Two Kinds of Light
by CreativeQuill
Summary: [COMPLETE] Third and final installment of Chasing Rainbows trilogy. The Dark Lord is gone, the magical world breathes a sigh of relief... but have they let their guard down too soon? What does Hermione know, and why isn't she talking? HG, RHr, et al.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone! I return to you with the sequel to Shades of Grey and Chasing Rainbows. This is the third and (probably) final installment, as I would imagine I'll be finished with it right around the time Book Six comes out, and that, of course, is going to change everything in this lovely world we like to play in._

_I'd like to thank you all, too. I have had so many people following my writing, and sending me such encouraging emails. My family has been through a rather rough time this spring, suicide has touched us once more, and writing has been a big part of my grieving process. I thank each of you who have been there for me (you know who you are) and cannot thank you enough for your comfort. I have intentionally made myself "incommunicado" over the last few weeks to a few people who are, really, quite important to me. I needed to get some things straight in my own head before I inflicted myself on others, but I think I'm almost ready to be civil again._

_As always, I have no claim on the wonderful world that JKRowling has created. I merely pay homage to her with my scratchings. I own nothing._

_CQ_

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* * *

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_**Two Kinds of Light  
**_

_There are two kinds of light – the glow that illuminates,and the glare that obscures_.

-- James Thurber (1894 – 1961)

Chapter One: The Veil

There were few lights in the huge marble hall. The dimness of the late hour shadowed corners and unlit rooms, those who worked there through the day were long gone for the evening. The few lights which were lit led the path through the hallways, through a door, past a dozing security wizard and down... through a round room with many doors, and through one of these, one of many, into a room lit with magical light... kept lit all the time, now.

But in this room, deserted because of the late hour, something disturbing seemed to be happening... or it would have been disturbing had anyone had been there to witness it. No one was. After all, the danger had passed. The Dark Lord was dead... killed by students on the grounds of the Wizarding school just two months past. Harry Potter had once again defeated him, saving the magical world from a fate darker than death. Light had conquered, and returned. Peace reigned.

The feeling of cold permeated the room. There was motion in the stone archway which appeared to be the only exit, other than the door which led into the room. There was a slight breeze, and the tattered veil which hung there wafted gently with the soft movements of the air.

And there were sounds, as well. Sounds which would have caused shivers down the spine of any mortal unfortunate enough to hear, any mortal who had witnessed death.

The voices of the dead. Or so it seemed.

As the breeze became stronger, pushing the veil out and into the room, a shrill shrieking began. There was no earthly sound like it, and therefore no description to give. It was haunting. It was ancient. The walls cringed with it, shrinking in on themselves, and had the wizarding world known, they too, would have shrunk back, uncertain of what was happening, but quite certain it could not prove to be good.

With a gust, the veiling blew inwards, and a dark, hooded shape stepped through into the room. Dark eyes surveyed the walls, and a sniff of derision could be heard. The stench of centuries of decay filled the area, and the being, for it could not be seen whether it was man or woman... or some other unearthly creature, breathed in the emptiness, the sound deep, rasping, filling the room with a tangible feeling of death.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Decisions, Decisions

"Because, there are some things which we simply aren't _meant_ to know, Hermione!"

"There is _nothing_ we aren't _meant_ to know, Ron!" the brunette witch followed him from the kitchen of Potter Manor into the large family lounge to the side of it, her hands full of butterbeer bottles. Harry and Ginny, curled up in one of the large overstuffed chairs, looked up from the movie they had been watching, and then glanced at each other, sharing a knowing look. Ginny giggled.

"I don't care, Ron... film is not some sort of strange magical process... it's _scientific_, and..."

"You're not going to tell me that they _hire_ those... arters...?"

"Actors," Harry interjected, his attention back on the screen of the brand new television set he had just bought that day as the hero of the film was knocked off a bridge and did a perfect dive into a raging river some hundred feet below.

"You're not going to tell me that they actually hire people to do things like _that_ without magic?" Ron pointed at the screen. "And what about when they get killed? Do they get extra for that?"

"Ron..." Hermione huffed.

"Give it up, Hermione," Ron scoffed, flopping into the chair opposite with the bowl of popcorn they'd gone to retrieve in his lap. Hermione shook her head and sighed.

"You're hopeless, Ron."

"Hopeless, am I? That's not what you said last..."

"Ronald _Weasley_!" the curly-haired witch blushed, glancing at the others in the room. Harry and Ginny continued to ignore them, as did Tonks, but Remus smiled at her.

"Hermione, Ron has a point," he said.

Everyone in the room turned to gape at him.

"Umm... Remus...?" Harry began, wondering if he didn't have to explain to the werewolf as well how the filming of movies worked.

"I understand what you're trying to say," Remus held up a hand to stop Harry from explaining. "But isn't the art of acting, the art of putting things on film, and producing a film that people want to watch... isn't it magical, to some degree?"

"Remus..."

"I have a feeling that the people who do it would think so," Remus smiled again, as he shifted beside Tonks and stood. "I'd love to stay and argue it out, but as it is, I'm bushed, and I'm going to bed. You young ones can finish the movie, if you feel so inclined."

Tonks, her eyes twinkling, made a great show of yawning and standing up, stretching her arms above her head and stretching tall.

"I'm off, as well, then," she smiled.

Harry tried not to smirk. It was plain that Tonks would be staying the night. Too bad Ron and Ginny were under strict instruction to floo home to the Burrow immediately after the movie. As it was, it had only been by calling it a date that they'd managed to keep Arthur from joining the party when he had heard of Harry's purchases that day, and only managed to keep Molly out of it by telling her that Remus would be there to chaperone.

Harry loved his adopted family, but sometimes they drove him insane.

"I'll just walk Hermione home, then..." Ron stood, taking her hand. "Night all... Gin, you going to wait for me?"

"I'll be here when you get back, Ron," Ginny's eyes never left Harry's. "Just don't be long. Mum'll have a fit if we're late."

"No... she'll floo through, to find Remus and Tonks nowhere in sight and you two snogging on the sofa. Beware, little sister," Ron laughed.

Ginny flushed.

"I won't be long," Ron sobered, leaving the room to walk Hermione back to the cottage on the grounds where she and her parents had taken up temporary residence.

Harry watched them go. The two months since the final battle had been so easy... too easy. Once the magical community had calmed down and stopped standing and applauding every time one of the remaining Dirty Dozen members entered a room, or Diagon Alley, or any other public place really, life had become a little more sane. But not by much.

They were still all getting owls daily from well-wishers. Many, many owls. So many, in fact, that Harry had decided to hire someone to deal with it all. Pansy Parkinson, recently turned to the light and subsequently disowned by her family, had been an obvious choice. She was currently residing in Diagon Alley and travelling to Potter Manor by floo each day. Harry had offered her one of the cottages on the grounds, even residence in the main house, should she prefer, but Pansy had smiled knowingly at him and shaken her head.

"Do you want to get the gossips going even more, Harry?"

"What?"

"You and Ginny need your space. Especially now. I think I need mine, as well. I don't mind taking a flat in Diagon Alley, and besides... who wants to live with their boss?"

Harry had flushed, apologised, only to have her laugh at him. It had then occurred to him that Pansy wasn't just the Slytherin girl who had annoyed them endlessly through school, she wasn't just Malfoy's girlfriend, and she wasn't just the girl who had, essentially, saved Harry's life by killing Malfoy herself... she was a girl, a woman, a witch... and a pretty strong one at that.

After their return to Potter Manor at the end of the school year, the Grangers, who had been living there since shortly before Easter, decided they needed to move out, into their own home. Harry had been disappointed. After what had happened in the Forbidden Forest, he looked upon Hermione as a sister, and her parents had become part of their world with their residence in his home after their own was destroyed. Their care of Harry's aunt during her illness only made it harder to let them go.

Harry had immediately offered them a home in the magical world... one of the two cottages on his property. Hermione had obviously wanted it, as well, but it took her parents several days to decide, and in the end, they both decided that they wanted to return to the Muggle world, and their careers. Hermione was disappointed, and had hesitantly told them that she was choosing to stay, to take Harry up on his offer of a home... at least for the immediate future. Both Grangers had happily given their blessings, extracted promises of regular visits both ways, and begun the process of finding a flat and place to reopen their dentistry practice. They weren't having much luck, but Harry was fine with that. He hoped, actually, it would take them a while – at least until Hermione got settled in at work, and in the cottage.

Of the survivors of the Dirty Dozen, only Ginny and Luna were returning to school. The others, all having finished their final year, had begun to move on The Ministry had offered jobs to all of them, but Harry wasn't entirely certain that the offer was genuine, and had politely refused. There had been an undertone at the meeting with the Ministry after the final battle that told him all was not as it seemed, and his hesitation had translated itself to the others silently. All but Hermione had refused... she had taken a job with them. Her reasons, at first shared only with Harry, Ron and Ginny, had been that she never wanted their group to be on the outside, with little information, ever again.

Harry had sighed with relief. The group, what was left of it, still existed. Each of them had loyalties of their own, but what they had been through had done something to each of them. Those that they had lost would not be forgotten, and should trouble rear it's ugly head once more, they had each sworn to be ready. This was Hermione's part, and the others recognized it for the sacrafice that it was. Hermione had never before intended to work for the Ministry... but she was the one who was most assured a place there, should she want it, and her seeming to focus on that goal, and with her naturally inquisitive nature, she would never raise anyone's suspicions.

Dumbledore had approved, with a knowing twinkle in his eye, when he was informed of her decision. His small smile told them all that he knew exactly what was going on, but would choose to not speak of it unless one of them approached him about it.

And none of them were going to do that. They each, all seven remaining members of the group, went about their business, only the group knowing that, should the need arise, they would be ready once more.

Little did they know it would come so soon.

* * *

"Hey, Ginny... let's go!"

"Mmmm... Harry... I have to go," Ginny murmured against his lips when she heard Ron shouting from the front hall.

"I want you to stay."

"I know, but Mum would have a fit."

Harry sighed. "I know. Okay... you'll drop around in the morning? I'll take you shopping."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't, Harry... I promised Mum I'd degnome the garden, and I want to do it before it gets too hot. I'll pop around after lunch, okay?"

Harry sighed again, but knew that Ginny's family was extremely important to her, as they were to him. He was going to have to get used to sharing her.

"Don't pout," she laughed.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"No, I'm not. I'm just... disappointed."

"Frustrated, you mean," she scoffed.

"Well..." Harry could feel his cheeks heating.

"I know. It's been too long..." her brown eyes flared as she looked at him.

"Go. Now." Harry ordered, feeling his blood heat at the look in her eyes.

"You know, if you'd do something about those bloody wards, I could apparate in and no one would know the difference."

"Ginny..."

"I know, I know. Same reason Bill refuses to take down the ones around the Burrow. The two of you, really! The war has been over for over two months... Voldemort is gone, Harry."

"I want you safe. I want all of you safe," Harry muttered.

"I know," she said softly.

"Oi, Ginny... are you coming?" Ron was beginning to sound rather impatient.

"On my way, Ron!" she called back happily as they turned to the door.

"Try and come tomorrow?"

"You could always come and help me do the degnoming."

"Well..."

"I know, I know. I won't see Ron for dust, either. How do I get myself into these things?"

With that, she kissed him and disappeared into the lounge. Distantly, Harry heard the flare of the floo fire, and turned and walked up the stairs towards his room. It was going to be another lonely night without Ginny there.

* * *

The following morning Harry was sitting in the kitchen at the breakfast bar, sipping a cup of steaming coffee, when the door behind him opened.

"Morning Remus," Harry said without turning.

"Harry," Remus' gravelly voice responded as he moved around the island to the kitchen proper and took a mug from the cupboard above the coffee percolator. Pouring a cup, he breathed deeply of the steam before turning back to Harry. "Sleep well?"

Harry glanced up moodily from under lowered brows at the werewolf, who grinned.

"I suppose that that would be a no."

"That would be a no," Harry confirmed grumpily.

Remus sat down two stools away and looked at the younger man. "What is it?"

"It's... I have some decisions to make. Soon."

"Ahh," Remus nodded knowingly, taking another sip of his coffee. "I see."

"I mean..."

"Is it the Auror Entrance Exam? Are you nervous?"

"I... I guess. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Well... it sounds kind of ... well, arrogant, but..." Harry could feel his cheeks warming again. "But... well, I've faced Voldemort, and won. I guess..."

"What could be worse, right?"

Harry shrugged.

"Harry, you had a power over Voldemort that you won't have over the average Death Eater. Remember that."

Harry nodded.

"I know... I just..."

"What?"

"It's kind of... well, it feels _empty_."

"Empty?"

"Hollow... not... not real."

Remus considered that for a moment, then spoke. "Harry, do you really _want_ to be an auror?"

"It's not that I don't want to be an auror, Remus."

"Then what is it?"

Harry's eyes blazed as he looked at the older wizard. "They killed my parents, they killed Cedric because of me... they killed my family. They killed Sirius. They targetted the Weasleys, and the Grangers. They hurt Ginny. They killed Susan and Blaise and Ernie and Terry... and Colin. Yes, Remus... I _want _to be an auror."

"Then what is it?"

"I want to be an auror, Remus. I'm just not sure I want to work for the Ministry."

Remus paused, studying him carefully for a moment.

"And for that, Harry, I cannot fault you," Remus toasted him with his coffee mug before drinking deeply. Harry sighed.

* * *

Harry, finding he was far too involved in his own thoughts that morning, decided to floo to the Burrow to help Ginny. As he entered through the kitchen fire, he spied Ron sitting at the table. Which in itself wasn't odd, as Ron spent a lot of time sitting at the table in the Weasley kitchen, but this time, he didn't have a plate of food in front of him. He had several sheets of parchment which he quickly cleared away when he spied Harry entering.

"Hey, Ron."

"Harry."

"What's up?"

"Nothing... nothing..."

"You sure?" Harry looked askance at him as he shuffled the papers in front of him. Almost as if...

_Almost as if he doesn't want you to see what's on them_.

"Yes... yes. What are you doing here?"

"I came to help Ginny with the degnoming. Ron..."

"Harry..." Ron flushed guiltily as they both spoke together.

"Ron, what is it?" Harry pulled out a chair and sat down across from his friend. "Something's bothering you."

"Harry..."

Harry looked at him expectantly.

"I don't know..."

"Look, if you can't talk to me about it, why don't you go find Hermione?"

"No... it's... I _have_ to talk to you about this..."

"What is it, then?"

"I... ummm... I've kind of... had an offer."

"An offer?"

"Yes."

"What kind of offer?"

"I... the Chudley Cannons..."

"I knew about that, Ron. You turned down that position in their publicity department, didn't you?"

"Not that, Harry."

"Then what?"

Ron sighed, then pushed a piece of parchment across to him. Harry picked it up and skimmed it.

_Dear Mr Weasley,... pleased to make this offer... longstanding support of the Chudley Cannons... surprised at the level of skill we witnessed... offering position of Keeper..._

"Wow," Harry laid the parchment back down on the table and looked up at his friend with stunned eyes. "Wow."

"I... know."

"Ron..."

"I don't know what to do, Harry!"

"What?" Harry looked at him with disbelief. The Chudley Cannons had been Ron's favorite team since childhood. He couldn't believe that Ron would consider turning down such an off.

"I mean, I know... we said..." Ron flushed again.

"Ron, you can't base the decision on what to do with your life on what we agreed to when we were fifteen."

"What?" Ron looked at him oddly.

"I mean..."

"We said we'd be aurors, Harry... if we could get in. It's not like they'd refuse us now, right?"

"Right... but..." Harry hesitated.

"But?" Ron looked oddly at him. "Harry?"

"Ron, I want to be an auror. That hasn't changed."

"Then..."

"But I don't know..."

"Don't know _what_?"

Harry swallowed. "Ron, I don't know if I want to work for the Ministry, and if I take Auror training from them, I'd be obligated..."

"You don't want to work for the Ministry?" Ron slumped heavily into his chair.

"I don't _know_ if I do... or not. Something just feels... odd."

"Odd, how?" Ron's blue eyes drilled into him.

"I know your family is very involved with the Ministry..."

"Harry, I've learned, the hard way of course, to trust your 'odd' feelings. Now, what feels 'odd'?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "But something... something is just way too... I don't know."

"Harry... _Hermione_ is working there... my dad... two of my brothers. Now... what feels 'odd'?" Ron had sat forward in his chair, looking closely at his friend.

"It feels like... remember how we used to feel when we weren't being told everything?"

"Clearly," Ron said dryly.

"It feels like that. It feels like..."

"Like you're being lied to," Ron said shortly.

"Exactly, I..." Harry looked up at him. "Ron?"

"That is exactly why I didn't tell the Cannons 'no' with a return owl," Ron said, his blue eyes not leaving Harry's. "I... felt like I wasn't being let in on everything that is going on... I thought..."

"What?"

"I thought it was you," Ron admitted quietly. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I thought..."

"Ron," Harry rubbed a hand across his eyes, a gesture he'd picked up from Ron and Mr Weasley. "I made you some promises, _ages_ ago..."

"I know."

"I will never lie to you, I will tell you everything I know... and never keep you in the dark on anything beyond the details of my relationship with Ginny."

"I know," Ron nodded, then looked up at his friend again. "Something is going on, isn't it Harry? Something big."

"It sure feels like it."

"I don't think we're imagining this," Ron said softly. "I know we're not."

"So..." Harry sighed. "What do we do?"

"You do what your heart is telling you to do," a soft voice came from the doorway. The two of them looked up to see Ginny standing there, her face pale but determined. "You train, you prepare... you create your own damned army... just as we did before the final battle, and you be ready."

"Ginny?"

"Harry, we've all learned, you don't just 'get feelings'."

"I..."

"I really wish you'd paid more attention in Divination," she sighed, moving into the kitchen and towards the cupboard where she took out three bottles of butterbeer, cast a quick chilling charm, and placed them on the table before sitting down next to Harry. "There _is_ something to it, you know... when it's not being taught by a complete flake."

"She's right, Harry," Ron said quietly, his own face pale. "You don't just get feelings. You..."

Harry, wanting to move quickly away from that line of conversation, turned to Ron. "But what do we _do_?"

"I guess we... continue what we began with the Dirty Dozen," Ron shrugged.

"Everyone has a life to lead, Ron. I'm sure that everyone else has..."

"I spoke to Seamus yesterday. He's..." Ron hesitated.

"He's what?"

"He's having a difficult time... adjusting. He doesn't know... his Dad actually suggested he join the clergy," Ron smirked at that.

"What?" Harry laughed disbelievingly. Seamus? In the _clergy_?

"Can you see Seamus as a priest?" Ginny giggled.

"He's actually considered..." Ron continued, glancing at Harry as he hesitated again.

"What?"

"He's considered joining the muggle military. Nev, too."

"Neville?"

"None of us want to work for the Ministry, Harry. The only way to get anything approaching Auror training... well... apparently, the muggle military can be quite..."

"I know, but..."

"So, instead," Ginny put down her bottle with a thump. "You two gather those around you who..."

"We can't build a _military!_" Harry interrupted her, turning shocked eyes towards her.

"Why not?" Ron asked.

"Because..." Harry swallowed. "Because..."

"See?" Ron shrugged. "No reason at all."

"But the Ministry would have a fit! It would look like we were..."

"Who says they have to know?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny...!"

"They didn't know about the Order. Not really."

"The Order? The Order wasn't a pseudo-military..." Harry stopped as he realized how wrong he actually was. The Order was, indeed, very military-like. "We have to talk to Dumbledore."

Ginny traded a look with her brother, nodded, then raised her butterbeer to take another long drink before looking at Harry and smiling. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

* * *

_Ahh, I am so GLAD to be back! Thank you all for your lovely reviews -- _

_CQ_

_**RyougaZell:** Hmm... I wonder? More on that later!_

_**Shotgunn:** You know, your reviews are always full of energy – the next time I'm in England, I intend to track you down and find out if you're as I picture you! As for the identity of our... visitor... do you mean Grindelwald? Hmm... there's a thought..._

_**Alli-Baby:** Shivers? Shivers are good..._

_**IrishCharms:** You know, you're the second reviewer to suggest it's Grindelwald._

_**Charmingly-Holly:** Thank you!_

_**Wolf'sScream:** Oh, the DoM is definitely going to play a role..._

_**Larna Mandrea:** You squealed in Chemistry? Your teacher must be thrilled that someone is that... thrilled... with their class! (Chemistry wasn't my strong suit... at all!). Creepy is good..._

_**Gautam:** Well, I'm glad you chose to grace me with one of your rare reviews – they mean a lot, you know. I wouldn't say that fanfiction writers write FOR reviews, but they sure are nice to get! I'm sorry you had a lousy day – we all have them occasionally. I'll try to keep the chapters coming with regularity so that you'll have something to look forward to!_

_**BrittSchrick:** Ah, that IS the question, isn't it?_

_**Weselan:** I'm glad to see that someone read that particular sentence carefully!_

_**Trixie7:** Vernon? Oh, the horror!_

_**Gerie:** Thank you – I've been lucky to have an outlet. _

_**LittleTom45:** Mylady... I like that!_

_**And everyone else, thank you:** Froboy, JediKnightBus, OldCrow, Tnick, Clhdadam, SabineStrohemMoss, JapaneseJew, SaintEmo, _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Plans for the Future

"There was an attack last night," Dumbledore sighed, placing his half-moon glasses on the desktop in front of him and rubbing at his eyes with both hands before picking up the spectacles and wearily returning them to their perch on his long nose.

"A..." Harry swallowed. An _attack?_ "Where?"

"Southhampton."

"Who?"

"A muggle boarding school."

"A... why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Harry. Nonetheless..."

"Professor..."

"Harry, I'm sorry. I don't seem to be able to give you my full attention right now." Dumbledore sighed. Harry had never seen him look so tired.

"This is important, sir," Harry said calmly.

"It really is time you stopped that, you know."

"What?" Harry looked at him, not understanding what he was saying.

"Calling me 'Professor'. I'm not your headmaster any longer, Harry. You must call me Albus... as the other members of the Order do."

"I... I don't know how comfortable I feel doing that, sir."

"I know. It was difficult for your father, as well. But you need to."

"I _need_ to talk to you about what is happening."

"What is happening, Harry?"

"Something... odd."

"Odd?" Dumbledore sat forward in his chair, his demeanor suddenly very attentive. "What do you mean, 'odd'?"

"Professor," Harry sighed. "There is something going on at the Ministry. I can feel it."

"You are aware of this?" Dumbledore spoke softly, almost to himself. "But how?"

"Just a feeling. And I'm not the only one."

"You aren't?" Dumbledore _did_ show surprise at this.

"Several members of the... the group..."

"Ron and the others?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "Professor, do you know what is going on? Why..."

"I have some idea, yes. But it is not something we were ever intended to know, Harry."

"What is going on? I know something is... what is it?"

"Harry, have you considered what might have happened in our world if you had _not_ been victorious in your final battle with Voldemort?"

"Of course! I could hardly _not_ be aware, could I? I mean... that's what I was fighting against, right?"

"Yes... the preservation of your family, those you cared about... yes, of course. But what about... Harry, have you considered the _politics_ of your win or loss to Tom?"

"Politics?" Harry spat. "What the _hell_ did politics have to do with it? People were _dying_..."

"Ah, but Harry," the elderly wizard leaned back in his chair. "Death is, quite often, about politics... and politics is almost always about death, if not of people, then of ideals... beliefs... values. I'm sure, coming from a muggle background, you've heard the term 'collateral damage'..." Dumbledore shrugged.

"Are you telling me..." Harry's voice grew hoarse and low. Dangerous. "Are you telling me that I wasn't... that the Ministry would have preferred it if I had _lost_ the battle?"

"I wouldn't go quite that far," Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Rather, consider that they may not have had the faith in the possibility of our being victorious that others did, and that many in... important positions... took steps to ensure their safety and the safety of their families... not to mention the steps they would have taken to preserve their own power... _when_ we fell, as they felt we must do... eventually."

Harry slumped back in the leather-upholstered chair. "Those sons of bitches."

"My sentiments exactly."

"How do you know this?" Harry turned sparking green eyes up at the elderly wizard.

"I don't," Dumbledore admitted. "However, at my age, one has rather a different perspective on things, Harry, and plenty of time to consider scenarios. Added to what I have been feeling, and a rather different view on divination, well..."

"Intuition," Harry said.

"Along with a healthy dose of experience," Dumbledore agreed dryly. "What you and your friends have been experiencing... only with rather a different perspective."

"So it's true."

"I would think... yes. There is something going on at the Ministry. There are those in positions of power who prepared themselves before the end of the war with the presumption that we would fall to Voldemort, a very powerful wizard. The plans they made..."

"Have turned about and bit them on the arse."

"Precisely," Dumbledore nodded with a slight smile on his face.

Harry thought for a moment. There was no way... no way in _hell_ that he was going to join the Ministry now... or go to them for Auror training. So how was he supposed to learn more?

"Professor..."

"Albus," the old wizard corrected him.

"Albus," Harry swallowed. "How would one go about getting Auror training without... without joining the Ministry?"

"Well, one would think that one would go to the source, wouldn't one?" a small smile played around the corners of the old Headmaster's mouth.

"What?"

"Who teaches the Auror training courses, Harry?" Dumbledore's eyes sparkled.

Harry realized what he was saying. "Older Aurors."

"I believe we have access to several of those, don't we? Several of the best, actually."

"Would they...?"

"They are all devoted to the Order, Harry. The only question is: how large a class are we looking at?"

"And how do we keep the Ministry from finding out?"

Dumbledore laughed out loud, something Harry could only remember him doing a handful of times in all the time he'd known him. "You leave the Ministry to me."

"But..."

"I've dealt with their kind for many years, Harry. Longer than most of them have been alive."

"But how do we..." Harry took a breath. "We can't just say that... that we aren't going to do _anything, _not take _any_ training. I mean, I could probably get away with it, but Ron, well... Ron will be expected to get a job of some sort, as will Seamus and Neville and..."

"Certainly! If all of you were to decide to be idle concurrently, it would certainly look suspicious," Dumbledore agreed. "However..."

"However?"

"Once again, Harry, I seem to find myself in the position of looking for a new DADA teacher."

Harry began to grin.

"And strangely enough, Madame Hooch came to me not an hour ago and announced her intention of leaving. We will need someone to oversee the physical education program, as well. And Professor Sprout was saying just the other day that... well, she's getting older, and she managed to be bitten while tending a crop of mandrakes twice last week... she really should have an assistant, poor thing..."

"You'd be surprised at how many of the old crowd have decided that, with the war over, they just want to enjoy life, and hand things over to the younger generation," Dumbledore continued, his eyes twinkling furiously. "Madame Rosmerta was just recently telling me how, now that things have calmed down, she was rather thinking of spending some time with her sister in America, and it occurred to me that Mr Finnegan would make a fine pub keeper, should he have the financial wherewithall to purchase such an establishment."

"Money would not be a problem," Harry said in a low voice.

"I didn't think it would be, actually," Dumbledore countered. "Having you all here... near or within Hogwarts, would serve many purposes, Harry, and with Miss Granger in the Ministry..."

Harry's eyes clouded. "Is she safe there?"

"As safe as she would be anywhere."

"Albus?"

"Harry, there is no reason to suspect anything of any of you. So long as they believe that _you_ believe that the war is over, they are going to assume that your guard is down. It's not Miss Granger they are... upset... with."

"It's me."

"It's you," Dumbledore agreed. "And, to a lesser degree, Mr Weasley."

"Ron?"

"You two are perceived to be... partners in crime, for want of a better word."

"But why not Hermione, then?"

"Some of the older... beliefs... still exist within our world, Harry. It is unfortunate... distasteful even, at times. But there it is. Hermione would never be considered the same kind of threat that you and Ron are, simply because she is a witch."

Harry shook his head, disbelievingly. "You mean they think because she's a woman..."

"As strange as it may seem, yes. You and I both know that Miss Granger is a highly competent witch, but the egos which run the more powerful departments at the Ministry are largely... old school."

"I wouldn't want to be them if Hermione ever gets wind of that," Harry remarked dryly.

"Nor I, Mr Potter," Dumbledore smiled. "Nor I."

* * *

Harry, after leaving Dumbledore, found himself in Diagon Alley, stepping out of the floo at the twins' shop.

"Harry, you silly bugger... what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you two. Privately."

"I sense a bit of... an undertone, Harry," Fred took a seat behind the counter while George locked the door and turned the "open" sign to "closed", pulling down the shades while he was at it.

"Well, there is a reason for that."

"Do tell, my fine, upstanding business partner who had better be making an honest woman of my sister the moment she graduates," George sat down across from him.

Harry, rather surprised at the comment, glanced between the brothers before deciding that now was probably not the time to address his relationship with Ginny. He was, after all, alone with them in a shop full of their bad ideas.

"I... I've decided to _not_ enter Auror training."

"You've..." Fred shook his head. "Harry, you've always said..."

"I know. Fred... George... have you had any suspicious or strange experiences lately?"

"Well, there was that corndog from Fortescues..." George admitted. "I was in the loo for a week... I swear they..."

"I meant with the Ministry?" Harry interrupted.

"Ah," Fred stood, took a small item from a shelf, and brought it back to where they sat. Placing it on the counter, he studied it for a moment.

It was a sneakoscope. Harry had one very similar to it at home. After a moment, when it didn't react, Fred looked up at him, an uncommonly serious look on his face.

"Funny you should ask, mate... yes."

"What?"

"They want to bloody know what we're selling, and to who, that's what," George said in an undertone.

Harry turned surprised eyes to him. "Which department?"

"That's the really strange bit," Fred said. "It's the Department of Mysteries."

"We just thought it was Hermione doing her control-freak thing..." George said with a snicker. "Man, I do not envy Ron when he's married to her... he won't get to have _any _fun..."

"But then..." Fred glanced at him.

"When we sent an owl back telling them that we don't collect that kind of information on our customers, that most people pay cash, they sent us _this_..." George reached under the counter and pulled out a small round, flattish object. It looked like a squashed tennis ball, but was golden and metallic. It was perfectly smooth.

"What is it?"

"We haven't figured that out yet..."

"But the instructions told us to pass a coin from each purchase over it," Fred looked down at it. "We figure it somehow identifies the customer by something on the coins..."

"We know it opens somehow... but we've not been able to figure it out," George looked frustrated. Despite popular belief, the twins were quite intelligent, and their need to know things was largely what drove their inventing behavior.

"Have you tried immersing it?" Harry speculated.

"What?" George looked oddly at him. Harry flushed.

"Immersing it. In water."

"Why would we...?"

"The egg... the one I had to figure out how to open for the triwizard tournament," Harry shrugged. "It needed to go under water to release the clue."

Fred and George exchanged shocked looks before madly dashing for the loo at the back of the shop.

"Be careful!" Harry called out. "What if they...?"

_Boom_.

"... put a trip of some sort on it?" Harry finished as the twins stumbled out of the loo, soaked to the skin and covered with bits of porcelain from what Harry hoped was the washbasin, and the ball laying open in Fred's hand.

"Good job, Harry!" George cried. "Look at this..."

"But what if the Ministry...?"

Fred pointed to a glass of water on the counter beside the till and grinned. "Oops... clumsy me."

Harry shook his head, thinking that that explanation probably wouldn't explain the state of the loo in the back of the shop, should anyone ask. "Look, just... be aware, okay? And let me know if..."

"Done, Harry!" George called gaily as Harry retreated to the floo. The two of them were already bent over the countertop where the bits of the ball and it's contents were already spread out, ready for examination.

As Harry stepped up to grab a handful of floo powder, the grate burst into green flames, and Bill Weasley stumbled out.

"Bill?"

"Harry, thank Merlin! Fred! George... you've got to come..."

"What is it?"

"The Burrow," Bill coughed, a bit of blood running from the corner of his mouth. "The Burrow... it's been attacked!"

Hearing this, Harry stepped into the floo, drew his wand and threw down the handful of powder he already held.

"The Burrow!"

* * *

_**BrittSchrick:** Well, daily might be pushing it. At this point, we're looking at three or four a week. Or so. About. We'll see, hmm? LOL!_

_**Shotgunn:** Oh, please – don't play with me that way! You left us with a giant fireball crashing through the glass ceiling of Kings Cross, as I remember it – tough to do, considering I've been hanging on THAT little cliffie for, what, nine or ten MONTHS? LOL! I'll believe it when I read it!_

_**Kazziedal:** I'm sending you a cyber-hug right back. Am I as excited as you? My kids and I are planning on camping out at the local Chapters bookstore the night of the 15th. They're having a release party, and I intend to have a copy in my hands as soon as possible!_

_**Wolf'sScream:** Once again, I stand corrected. Suffice to say that the site appears to be doing some odd things when I upload, because in my file, the errors of omission are as they should be. The things that are just wrong are, unfortunately, my own oversight. Apologies._

_**Trixie&:** I think Ron is going to want to be a little closer to things than the position with the CC would allow him._

_**VT:** Thanks for your kindness. I, too, am eagerly awaiting Book Six. One of the reasons why I want this fic done by then is because I KNOW that JKR is going to change things drastically with this book, and I KNOW I won't be able to continue this one on after reading it. It's going to spark different ideas, I believe!_

_**CaptainAlexObvious:** Umm... a green ribbon around your ankle? Okay... I think I'll take that as a huge compliment... I don't know may people who walk about with ribbons on their ankles, so it must be a compliment, right? LOL!_

_**Weselan:** Jedi mind tricks? Would I do that? I think I'm more the Bene Gesserit type, actually..._

_**Larna Mandrea:** I had to use that bit about Seamus... couldn't resist...LOL!_

_**Padfootlives101:** I don't imagine that Harry will be fashioning it after any one specific preexisting group. Think of it more as an ideal..._

_**LifeLoveSanity:** I had a writing teacher that once told me that there were two things essential to being a good writer: being well read from a variety of genres, and writing every day. Everyone can write well, it's not skill – it's determination._

_**Drowning Goldfish:** Wow. All I can say is... wow! Thank you for an amazingly encouraging review. Thank you!_

_**Manatheron:** The sequel to Shades of Grey was Chasing Rainbows... covering Harry's final year at Hogwarts. At this point, there is no date. Ginny has a year left of school, after all..._

_**Whimsical Firefly:** Yes, I decided it was time I dredged myself up out of my pit of depression. I've been writing a lot, in my little basement room, but I'll be around a whole lot more, now, I hope! Hope all is well with you – see you online soon..._

_**And the rest, thank you: **SabineStrohemMoss, Kordolin, RyougaZell, Harryrukes, JediKnightBus, HogsmeadeHunny, 2InsanitiesInl, Alli-Baby, Lady of Masbolle, laxgoalie210, starnat_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Attack on the Burrow

When Harry stepped into the kitchen at the Burrow, he felt like all hell had broken loose and left him behind. The only two walls of the room that were still standing were the back wall that held the staircase to the upper levels and the one which contained the doorway through to the lounge. The exterior walls, which faced the back garden and the hill, were gone. Quite literally.

And all seemed empty. There was no one there.

"Ginny!" Harry yelled, feeling panic rising in him. His chest constricted. What if she wasn't here? What had happened to her? "Ginny!"

"Harry!" her voice came to him from the staircase.

"Ginny... I thought..." he rushed to her, pulling her down to him and holding her tightly against him. "When Bill got to the shop... are you... you're not...?"

"I'm fine, Harry. Tonks and I are just here packing up a few things. Mum and Dad are already at your place."

"You and _Tonks_? What... it's not _safe_ here, Ginny! You shouldn't be here with just Tonks!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, there, Harry," Tonks grinned from above. "But as it happens, it's not just the two of us. Kingsley and several others are about. Outside, checking for signs of who they were."

"Who they... _I'll bloody tell them who they were..._!" Harry was furious.

"Harry?" Tonks' eyes were dark as she looked directly at him, her eyes communicating something more than she was saying. Obviously, Dumbledore had spoken to her. "You know, and I know, and Kingsley knows..."

"And I know, now," Ginny sighed.

"...but we don't have to broadcast the facts as we know them to the entire bloody world quite yet, do we?" Tonks continued as though Ginny hadn't spoken.

"No... no... where is Dumbledore?"

"Back at your house with Mum and Dad."

"Gin? Was there anyone else...?"

"Ron was here. He's outside..." Ginny looked at the missing walls and laughed. "Out... with Kingsley. Bill was here, too, but Dad sent him off to find the twins."

"I left him at the shop," Harry confirmed, still looking at her, trying to reassure himself that she wasn't hurt.

At that moment, there were three loud pops and Bill and the twins materialized in front of them.

"Oh..." George looked at the blue sky visible through the missing walls. "Mum's going to have a fit when she sees this."

"Mum's already seen it," Ginny said dully. "The Burrow is... they've destroyed it. I don't think that this can be repaired, Harry."

"If it can't, we'll build new, Ginny," Harry held her close, wrapping his arms around her. "So long as you're safe."

"I am now," she sighed, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm taking you back to the Manor."

"I have to get the things..." she started to pull away, but Harry could see that her eyes were beginning to dilate. Shock was setting it. He needed to get her home, get her to lie down and rest, before she fell down.

"We'll take care of it, Gin-gin," George patted her on her back consolingly, using her childhood nickname without thinking. "Let Harry take you home. We'll bring what we can."

With a sigh, she looked over at Tonks and smiled. "Thanks, Tonks. You'll be at Harry's later?"

"I'll be right behind you with your kit, Ginny," Tonks agreed gently. "Off with you, now. Let Harry take you home."

Harry rather thought he liked the sound of that, and after eyeing the about-to-topple floo, he simply wrapped his arms around her and apparated, taking her with him.

"How did he do _that_?" George asked.

"Harry is a pretty strong wizard, George," Bill said softly. "Apparating with a second would be pretty easy for him."

"But..."

"And he loves her," Tonks smiled again before turning and heading back up the creaking staircase to the rooms above to salvage what she could of the Weasley family's belongings.

* * *

Arriving back at his room in Potter Manor in Harry's arms, Ginny looked around with surprise.

"Harry?"

"Relax, Ginny," he whispered. "It's okay. I've brought you home."

"I... did we floo?"

"No. I apparated us."

"Both of us?"

"Yes," Harry agreed. "Now lie down. Rest."

"But Mum and Dad... Ron... the Burrow..."

"Rest, Ginny. I'm going to take care of it. Just rest."

"Harry?"

"What is it?"

"Thank you," she whispered as she laid down and he pulled the duvet over her.

"For what?" Harry said in a strained voice. "Not being there when you needed me?"

"You..." she sat back up, looking at him with worried eyes. "You can't be aware of everything all the time, Harry... you can't be with me every minute."

Harry was silent, but his jaw was set stubbornly.

"Fine. If you want to blame yourself, go ahead. It's stupid, but I know full well that I won't be able to talk you out of it. But don't you dare believe for one minute that I blame you for not being there, Harry... Merlin, it could have been _any _family!"

"Go to sleep, Ginny. When you wake up, I promise, everything will be different."

"That's what I'm afraid of," she sighed before closing her eyes. "But thank you for being there, for coming when I needed you. Thank you for bringing me home."

Taking a sharp breath, Harry tucked the duvet around her and then left the room, heading downstairs to the kitchen, where he was sure he'd find the others.

Sure enough, the group had convened at the kitchen table. Molly was being handed a cup of tea by Mrs Granger, who had a worried look on her face as she glanced up at Harry. Mr Weasley looked older than Harry had ever seen him looking, and Dumbledore stood at one end of the room, gazing out the window, his back to the others.

"Mrs Weasley?"

"Oh!" the teacup she'd been raising to her lips shook, spilling tea into her saucer.

"I'm sorry," Harry came forward. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I would imagine we'll be rather jumpy for... for a few days, Harry," Arthur smiled sadly at him.

"I was just at the Burrow. I brought Ginny back. She's upstairs in bed."

"Oh, Harry... Ron... is Ron okay?" Molly's worried eyes rose to meet his.

"Ron is there... checking... with Kingsley. They're looking for..."

"They will find nothing. Nothing of any use," Dumbledore spoke without turning.

"But..." Arthur glanced between Harry and Dumbledore. "Surely the signature will tell them..."

"There will be no signature, Arthur," Dumbledore's voice was low. Harry hadn't heard him speak that way for... well, since the night he'd run into the Entranc Hall at Hogwarts and told the aging headmaster that Voldemort's forces were coming.

He sounded... resigned.

"But..."

"They will not have used their own wands for this, let me assure you," Dumbledore turned from the window and Harry noticed that the sparkle was gone from his eyes. They were now shadowed with... grief? Fear? Anger.

"Arthur! Our home..." Molly began to shake with reaction.

"Molly, we'll rebuild... we'll..." Arthur pulled her close, holding her tightly against him. Harry could see the dampness in Ginny's father's blue eyes.

"Your home is here, Mr Weasley, for as long as you want it to be," Harry said softly. "There is plenty of room for you... all of you."

"We can't..." Arthur began.

"Of course you can. There's no reason to not stay here. The Burrow is all but destroyed, Arthur. It will require extensive repairs, and perhaps must be rebuilt entirely. In the meantime," Dumbledore stated. "Ginny will be off to school. Harry... and Ron... well, I would imagine that they have plans of their own."

"I can't speak for Ron, Professor," Harry nodded, his hand still on Mrs Weasley's back. "But I'd like to accept your offer."

"Offer?" Molly looked up at this.

Harry, taking a deep breath, sat down next to her, facing her with a serious expression on his face. "Mrs Weasley, Professor Dumbledore has offered me a position at Hogwarts."

"Harry?"

"But..." Arthur glanced between them. "Harry, I thought you and Ron wanted to be aurors?"

"We did, but... well, situations change. I've been offered the position of DADA teacher, amonst other things. I've decided to accept."

"Oh, Harry!" Molly cried, throwing her arms around him and sobbing. "You'll be safe! You won't be training to go after more of them. Oh, I've prayed for this..."

"Mrs Weasley," Harry hugged her back, but tried to interrupt her, wanting her to understand.

"And Ron?" she looked at Dumbledore eagerly.

"I have yet to speak to your son, Molly. I'm sure you'll understand that I can't discuss with you what I haven't yet spoken to him about?" Dumbledore cast a meaningful look at Harry.

"Of course, Albus... of course... I..."

"Mrs Weasley, Ginny is resting... why don't you go and do the same?" Harry said softly.

"Oh, I couldn't..."

"Molly, you need some rest," Arthur looked at her.

"_I_ do?" she gave her husband a look that spoke volumes. "It wasn't _me_ who blasted three of them with a binding spell so hard that they ended up thirty yards into the orchard, Arthur!"

Harry's eyebrows rose and he looked at Mr Weasley with new respect. The older wizard was blushing.

Amazing.

"They attacked my family... my... my children," he managed to keep the tears from welling, but the sob caught in his voice.

"You both need to rest, Mr Weasley. Go... take the room you had. We'll... we'll see to everything that needs to be seen to immediately. Bill and Ron will be back shortly, and then we can..."

"Yes, perhaps that would be best, Harry. Perhaps..." Arthur nodded, then stood and helped Molly to her feet. Moments later, they were gone from the room, and Harry, Dumbledore, and Mrs Granger looked silently at each other.

"Is Hermione safe?" Mrs Granger asked quietly after a moment of staring hard at Harry. "She's not here... she..."

"She should be home shortly," Harry looked at the clock on the kitchen wall... an eighteenth birthday present from Ginny, it had everyone he cared about on it. Hermione's hand pointed to "travelling".

"Ron and Bill?" Dumbledore enquired.

"Bill looked... I think he should be looked at," Harry admitted. "He was coughing up blood."

"I shall floo Madame Pomfrey to come," Dumbledore turned to the doorway.

"Ron... I didn't see Ron, Albus," Harry used the headmaster's first name without thinking. "Was he okay?"

"Ron was fine when I brought his parents back. He showed himself well in the fight, as did Ginny. They both have trained well, Harry."

"He didn't use...?"

"He used defensive spells only, Harry," Dumbledore confirmed solemnly. "Which might prove to have been a problem in itself."

"Why?"

"We have no proof. None were held."

"But the binding spells on the three that Mr Weasley..."

"They were released by the others, and taken as they left. We have no proof, and no idea of who it was. And no way to find out."

"But..."

"Harry... the wards on the Burrow, as you know, were as strong as the wards on Potter Manor..."

Dawning realizing of what was being said made Harry burn with anger.

"Then how did they...?"

"That, Harry, is the first question we must find the answer to. Otherwise... no one will be safe ever again."

* * *

_**Life Love Sanity:** Thanks for the comments... writing effectively is just being persistant, really. And reading good literature, often, helps as well!_

_**Weselan:** My husband accuses me of using "that Bene Gesserit crap" on him when I try to make him see things **my** way! Excellent series. Have you seen the miniseries made a few years back? I think it was done for television, but we bought the DVDs. Quite well done, surprisingly. Few book adaptations move well into made-for-television film, but this was good._

_**CaptainAlexObvious:** Well, I'm honored, then. I saw a review response where someone made comment about being given a **black** ribbon, and I wondered!_

_**Brittschrick:** Catch a break? We ARE talking about Harry here, you know!_

_**Alli-Baby:** Well, someplace had to be attacked... or we wouldn't have a story. And it couldn't be the Ministry (you'll see why, later...)_

_**Potterfanforever:** Sorry it's getting on your nerves... they're not necessarily interruptions, you know. Think of them as pauses._

_JapaneseJew:** Do you REALLY want to know anything about Fred and George's clientele? LOL!**_

_**WhimsicalFirefly:** Perhaps we should just **send the leaders out**. Full stop. Maybe then we'd have short-lived wars._

_**WolfsScream:** You're not "carping", you're "critiquing". And I appreciate it. Don't think I don't. The site has been doing some weird stuff, lately, though, so I don't think it's **all** me!_

_**LarnaMandrea:** How much sugar have you had today? LOL!_

_**Shotgunn:** Ah, I see. And here I thought it was SCHOOL that was keeping you from writing, and now I find out it was preoccupation with a girl. Ah, well – I'll have to forgive you that, if you supply us with a few chapters while she's gone. Someplace sunny, I hope?_

_**Kordolin:** Your favorite? I'm honored!_

_**Kazziedal:** See, the thing is, I just don't know. I don't see JKR focussing on the "romance" aspect of Harry's life, really, beyond the "first" experiences that every teenager might well have (at least, the G rated ones...). But having said that, the original artwork for the HBP cover shows Harry and DD, with a cauldron, and on either side, from the bottom, faces looking up. On one side, it's very o**bviously** Hermione and Ron, and on the other... a lone, redheaded girl. So... what do I think? I think JKR is playing with us. What do I **hope**? Well, given the pairing I choose to write, I think you know that already!_

_**Manatheron:** Have **you** considered writing that? See, all these ideas... _

_**RyougaZell:** Lol... VANILLA FUDGE! LOLOL! Oh, I **must** use that one!_

_**And to everyone else who took the time to comment, thank you: **Kaiserzacc, Trixie7, JediKnightBus, Gerie, WhatdoIhavetodo, Froboy, padfootlives101, SabineStrohemMoss_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Revealing

That night, Harry sat in his study, under the portrait of his parents, surrounded by a group of friends. Harry had called them together to discuss Dumbledore's offers, and the possibility of developing some sort of group, with proper training, to keep their world a little safer.

In addition to himself and the other remaining members of the Dirty Dozen, Arthur, Remus, Dumbledore, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks were in attendance. Ginny sat next to Harry in the large chair, curled into his side.

"We have to all be absolutely certain," Harry said quietly. "This isn't like before, where backing out meant leaving Hogwarts."

"Harry?" Seamus looked oddly at him.

"This is worse. This is... if anyone backs out of this, the assumption will be that they have broken ranks, and turned to the Dark. If that is the case... I would have no choice. You would know things... even being at this meeting, seeing these faces..."

"Harry," Seamus faced him. Seamus had changed in the months since the final battle, his face was more mature, lines were there that hadn't been before, and there a look in his eyes that said he'd seen things that no one should be forced to be witness to. Seamus Finnegan had grown up, and become a strong, determined, and perhaps even mildly bitter man. "If I throw my lot in, I'm in. I'm a man of my word, Harry, you know that."

"I know that. That's why I'm telling you this, Seamus. This isn't... this isn't Malfoy and his lot causing trouble at Hogwarts. This is... these are people who..."

"Harry," Dumbledore began, a warning note in his voice.

"Someone is leading them," Harry said after a moment. "Someone has taken up Voldemort's cause... someone has stepped into his shoes. They _must_ have a leader, of some sort. But it goes much, much further than that. When you know... when you understand... you'll understand why. I must be absolutely honest with all of you about this. Anyone who joins this, if I am ever given reason to doubt you, if you turn on this group... well, I won't allow anyone to endanger the lives of those I care about. No one."

"I'm in," Ron said without hesitating.

"Ron, the Cannons?" Harry asked.

"Screw the Cannons," Ron said firmly, only a slight shadow in his eyes. "They've managed this far with the lot they've got. They'll manage without me."

"Harry, you know I'm with you," Neville smiled nervously. "My gran would pop a string if she knew, but I'm in."

"I have a position for you, as well, Mr Longbottom. One your grandmother will be most pleased with, I'm sure," Dumbledore said.

"I've been stuck with you lot since first year," Seamus said. "Not likely to back out just now, am I? Besides which, if I don't do this, me da'll have me pledging to the church... can't have that, now can we? Think of all the ladies..."

"Alright, Finnegan," Tonks stood. "I'm sure you think you're irresistible, but let others have their turn, hmm? Harry."

Harry was surprised when Tonks turned to him, kneeling in front of him. She had a saucy grin playing about her mouth as she did, but she continued.

"I hereby give a Witches' vow..." she said solemnly, controlling her grin for the moment. There were gasps around the room, Ginny sat up straight, a look of surprise on her face. "If my skills, my honor, my life are of use to you, can be of service to attain that for which you reach, they are yours to use. I swear this by my name, my life, my honor, my death."

"Tonks?" Harry looked at her, then glanced around the room uncertainly. What was she doing? Apparently, something remarkable, because everyone else in the room, including Hermione, was looking on with varying degrees of surprise and shock. Except Remus, who calmly watched as Tonks continued.

"I pledge my allegiance to Harry James Potter, and will stand next to him, at his side, and between danger and that which he holds dear, at his bidding. My life is his to direct."

There was silence in the room as Tonks rose, her head bowed, silent.

"Tonks?" Harry said, "what did you just do?"

"Nymphadora has bound her life purpose to yours, Harry," Dumbledore said softly. "It is now beyond her to not do your bidding. She is incapable of refusing you... anything."

"_Nymph!" _Harry stared at her, shocked.

"My life is my own to pledge, Harry," the pretty auror smiled. "I choose to pledge it to the cause for which you... for which _we_ fight."

"But..." Harry glanced at Remus, who nodded.

"It doesn't mean that Nymph can't have a life of her own, Harry. Simply that you can have full confidence that, should you give her any direction, any instruction at all, it will be carried out, or she will die trying. She is bound to follow you."

"What happens if..." Harry gulped. "If something should happen to me?"

"Then, Nymphadora would be presented with a choice," Dumbledore smiled. " She could either follow you into death, or she could choose a new... liege."

"What?"

"I'm sure that you will have many children, Harry, whom I would be honored to serve after you," Nymphadora said cheekily. "Now you'll have a bit of motivation to get on that, don't you?"

"But you... and Remus..."

"Remus and I have discussed this. It is no hardship to have our family bound to yours," she assured him.

"But..."

"No more buts," Dumbledore said gruffly. "What is done is done. Nymphadora has made her choice, you must accept it."

Harry looked at the woman in front of him and stood, uncertainly, pulling her into his arms. Harry had tears in his eyes.

"I wish you hadn't... but not because I'm not grateful, Nymph. I..."

"It was my choice, Harry, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you... and yours... in any case. You know that!"

Harry nodded, burying his face against her bubble-gum pink hair.

"Aw, don't go all soft on me now!" Tonks grinned.

"Fine," Harry stood back. "We'll talk... later."

"As you wish, my liege," she grinned smartly back at him, flouncing away to sit down next to Remus.

Ginny was still next to him, and quiet. Harry took her hand, and she held it, but she didn't squeeze it as she normally would have done.

It worried him.

* * *

The meeting ended with an agreement being made between them all. Everyone agreed to be part of this new group, despite Harry's warnings of what would happen should they pull out past this point. All stood firm.

It was decided that Harry and Ron would see the train off at Kings Cross the following week, then return to Potter Manor to floo directly to the school. Neville had gladly accepted an apprenticeship with Professor Sprout, and Ron was thrilled to be offered the position formerly occupied by Madame Hooch. Teaching the students to fly, overseeing Quidditch, and seeing to the physical activity of the students interested him greatly, and Harry saw a light in Ron's eyes that he hadn't seen in months.

Ginny seemed rather quiet, but Harry dismissed this as a side effect of having watched her home be destroyed and been in fear of her life that day. He put his concern aside while he watched the others leave, and asked Seamus to stay for a moment.

"Harry? Problem?" Seamus asked after the door closed behind the last of the others to leave.

"No. None at all. I wanted to discuss something with you."

"What is it?" Seamus looked worried.

"Seamus, Dumbledore has asked me to discuss your... provision... with you."

"My what?"

"The arrangements we'd like to make to have you in the area."

"I thought I'd floo up..."

"Actually, we have something else planned, if you're agreeable."

"What is it, then, Harry?"

"You remember the Three Broomsticks?"

"Remember it, mate? I practically lived there from fourth year on."

"Yes," Harry tried not to smile. "Well, Madame Rosmerta has decided to take an extended vacation, and..."

"Harry?"

"I've rather thought to buy the place. I'm going to need someone to run it for me."

"Are you serious, man?"

"There would be a condition, of course..."

"Who do I have to kill, besides the obvious, of course?" Seamus grinned.

"I'd have to be considered a silent partner, Seamus," Harry continued. "I'd fund it, and take a share of the profits, but essentially, it would be yours. No one could know that I provided the money behind it."

"You're telling me that you want to buy that little gold mine, put up the nick for it, but no one is to know about it, and I'd be in sole charge?"

"That's... about it."

"Harry, did Tom Riddle knock you on the head in that last?"

"No," Harry laughed. "It's the same arrangement I have... elsewhere, Seamus. I would need to know that the agreement was just between us."

"Bloody hell, mate, I'd have to be daft to say no. And no one ever accused me of being daft!"

"Good, I'll see to the money. Dumbledore is willing to negotiate with Madame Rosmerta for us."

"Are you sure about this?" Seamus looked at him like he'd grown an extra head in the last ten minutes.

"Absolutely," Harry agreed.

"Why?"

"My reasons are my own," Harry said with a smile. "But you're a friend, Seamus, and honestly, you'd make a bloody awful priest."

* * *

_I know, I know. Odd chapter. Not to mention short. Trust me... it'll all come together in the end. Which will be by the 16th of July, I promise! Because AFTER the 16th, who is going to want to be reading fanfiction?_

_CQ_

_**LarnaMandrea: **Of course I tackle the complicated elements as main plotlines... you've been reading me long enough to see through that in a minute!_

_**IndiaInk:** I like the interweaving of different plotlines... and the dialogue flows out of that. I actually wrote for about five hours yesterday, which is unheard of for me lately. _

_**RyougaZell:** Petunia and Dudley are off living in the muggle world after losing Vernon to a DE attack. The Grangers are still living at PM (in the guest house that Hermione has claimed as her own) until they find an appropriate "situation" in the muggle world. Colin, Susan, Terry, Ernie, and Blaise all died in the final battle. Malfoy is dead (killed by Pansy during the final confrontation). Lupin lives at Grimmauld Place, but stays at Potter Manor when Harry is there, Tonks often stays, as well. Charlie, Bill and Percy are all alive and well (Percy has made his peace with his family and is married to Penelope). Percy and Bill are both working at the Ministry, Charlie is working full time for the Order. Neville and Luna are dating, Neville was considering a stint in the muggle military, and Luna is returning to Hogwarts for her final year. The twins are running their shop in Diagon Alley, and they live in the flat above. Seamus is trying to resist his father's pressure to join the clergy and Dean is dead (killed during their final year during a DE attack). Seamus and Lavender broke up shortly before Christmas in their final year. There. Say **that** three times fast!_

_**JapaneseJew:** That would be the question, wouldn't it?_

_**Kazziedal:** Aaarrrghhh! Tell me, TELL ME! Where would one find said article if one wished to read it?_

_**Starnat:** You know, I love the way you all speculate about **how** things happen in my stories._

_**Wolf'sScream:** Of course it's critiquing... but again, the darned omissions weren't mine! The site would appear to be eating some letters._

_**Manatheron:** I don't read much other than HP, although I will admit a rather embarrassing preoccupation with LOTR, namely Legolas..._

_**Sarah:** Oh, my grocery list is very boring. At least, according to my non-vegetarian children, who would love me to buy things like hot dogs and doritos._

_**Shotgunn:** I heard you're having a bit of a heat wave there. Frankly, I'd trade you. Southern Alberta is experiencing the worst flooding it's had in 200 years._

_**Gerie:** It's frightening, actually, because that's not the first time I've heard that. _

_**Weselan:** I loved the BBC P&P adaptation. My husband actually bought me the DVD's some time ago – but I generally end up watching them alone!_

_**And to all the others who reviewed, thank you so much:** heartofgryffindor89, SabineStrohemMoss, Nightgames, AlliBaby, Captain-Alex-Obvious, nkod, Ginny2026, BrittSchrick, GinnyRoseWeasley, OldCrow,JediKnightBus, SilverWarrior_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Something About Ginny

"Harry, love... can I speak to you for a moment?"

"What is it, Mrs Weasley?" Harry looked up from the parchments that Dumbledore had left on the desk for him to look over. They all had to do with class assignments, and Harry wasn't particularly interested in any of it. He rather thought the best way for him to approach teaching DADA was as he had approached teaching the DA club.

Of course, Hermione had helped a lot with organizing the DA. Perhaps he _should_ have a look over those notes...

"Harry, I'm... concerned."

"Concerned?" This got his attention. A concerned Molly was a bad thing, in his experience.

"I'm..." Molly hesitated, then shut the door and came forward. "Harry, Ginny slept in your bed this afternoon."

Harry flushed. He hadn't thought... he'd just known she would need to lie down and instinct had taken him to his room. "Mrs Weasley..."

"I know, love, but others... well, others might talk if they got the wrong idea. I just wanted to make sure that you realized. An innocent girl like Ginny... well, she wouldn't... she wouldn't realize what people might say, if they thought they had a reason to. She wouldn't understand that people might think... well, that... that the two of you were... she's so innocent, Harry."

Harry, trying hard not to flush more deeply, looked down at his desktop. "I just knew she needed to rest, Mrs Weasley. I apparated with both of us, and I went the one place I knew I could concentrate on perfectly enough to get us both through without splinching... I'm sorry if..."

"You apparated with Ginny?" Molly looked surprised.

"The floo at the Burrow... well, it was falling down..."

"But Harry, what about the wards?"

"Which...? I..." This threw him for a moment. Hadn't they just been talking about Ginny sleeping in his bed? What did the wards have to...?

"The wards on Potter Manor. You do have wards? Of course you do, Bill checked them himself..."

"I don't know, Mrs Weasley. I just did it. I didn't really think about the wards, I just knew Ginny had to get here and lie down, so I just did it."

"And Ginny managed it, as well?"

"Well... no..."

"Harry?"

"I kind of... apparated both of us."

"You did?"

"Mrs Weasley..."

"You must be exhausted. It's not easy to apparate with another adult, Harry."

"Mrs Weasley... I didn't think about it. I just did it. I'm fine. I know Ginny is tired, but..."

"Has she gone up, then?"

"I... I don't know. She left the meeting with the others, but I had to speak to Seamus about something."

"Well, I was just in her room. She wasn't there," Molly looked concerned again. Harry's head was beginning to ache.

"Perhaps she went with Hermione over to the cottage."

"Yes. Check, will you, love? I won't be able to sleep if I don't know that she's safe."

"I will, Mrs Weasley."

"And Harry?"

"Yes, Mrs Weasley?"

"Just... be aware of appearances. Ginny tends to ignore such things."

"Of course, Mrs Weasley," Harry felt his cheeks growing warm again.

* * *

Heading out of the study, the notes forgotten on his desk, he took the stairs two at a time, strongly suspecting where Ginny was. Opening his bedroom door, he realized how well he knew her. She sat, crosslegged on his bed, picking at the duvet cover thoughtfully.

"Ginny?"

"Harry," she looked up. Her normally bright smile was gone. Harry couldn't place her expression, but knew it couldn't be good.

Closing the door behind him, he advanced toward her, sitting on the end of the bed and looking at her carefully.

"Ginny, something's wrong... what is it?"

"I'm fine, Harry."

"But..."

"I'm just..."

"What?"

Ginny looked up at him, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. "I'm sorry!"

"Gin?" He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "I'm sorry. It's been a horrible day for you, hasn't it? I should have held off the meeting tonight until tomorrow. I'm so sorry. You must be exhausted..."

"No!" she cried against his shoulder. "It's not that, Harry, it's not!"

"Gin? What is it, then? Merlin, I hate to see you cry," he wiped away a crystal tear from her cheek. "Tell me what it is, please? So I can fix it?"

"You can't fix it, Harry."

"But..."

"It's just... Harry, how do you feel about me?"

"I love you, Ginny. You know that. What's wrong?"

"I... Harry... normally... I just..." she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Lord, I don't cry pretty. I feel like such a prat."

"You're not a prat. Obviously something is bothering you. Gin, is it something I've done? I know I can be pretty thick sometimes... "

"No, Harry."

"Then what on earth is it?"

"Tonks."

"Tonks?" Harry sat back, surprised.

"She..."

"You mean because of that pledge thing?"

"Yes."

"Ginny, I'd never hold her to it, I swear. I'm not into slavery."

"No, it's not that, Harry."

"Then what?"

"Harry, making a witch's vow is unheard of."

"Well, apparently Tonks has heard about it."

"That's not what I mean. It's a very, very, _very_ old tradition, Harry. Wizards were known to make a Wizards vow... expected to, actually... to their leige lord, in ancient times. It was a... well, rather a proof of their devotion."

"Just exactly like Tonks," Harry agreed. "I do get it, Ginny. And I know that it's not common."

"Not only not common, Harry, but..."

"What?"

"Harry, a wizard would pledge an oath to his leige lord, and subsequently to his family, but it was... well, it's frowned upon."

"But..."

"By the Ministry, Harry... it's really... well, a lot of people think it's rather too close to Imperious for comfort."

"Ginny, are you telling me that Tonks will be in trouble with the Ministry for this?"

"No, it's not against the law. The oath has one major difference from Imperious... the only difference that matters really... it's by choice. But for Tonks to do this is remarkable."

"Don't think I don't know that, Gin,"

"It's _very_ remarkable, actually, Harry."

"So?"

"So very few witches did anything like this, and if they did, it was generally for a very different reason than a wizard would have."

"What?"

"Harry... only a _mistress_ would do such a thing."

Harry stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending. When it finally came to him just what Ginny might mean by that, his jaw literally dropped.

"You think... you think that Tonks... that Tonks and _I_...?" Harry was shocked.

"No, of course not, but..." Ginny flushed.

"Ginny, I would imagine that very few witches were allowed to become aurors back in the day, either. And that is the _only_ capacity which Tonks would be devoting herself to me. The _only_ one she would have any reason to... do you understand?"

"I know."

"First of all, I have everything I want with you. Why would I be so _stupid_ as to risk that? And..."

"I don't think you would, Harry."

"...secondly," Harry continued, as though she'd not spoken. "I would hardly do that to Remus, now would I?"

"I know, Harry! I trust you, okay?"

"It doesn't really sound like you do!" He looked at her with shocked eyes.

"I _do_!" Ginny's eyes filled with tears again. "Harry, it's not that I suspect Tonks of anything more than what she said, and I certainly would never believe that _you_ would be..."

"Then _what is it?_"

"I..." Ginny swallowed. "I..."

"What?"

"I... I just realized that... that you are who you are... and... " she began to sob.

"Ginny," Harry pulled her to him again. "Ginny, I don't want anyone but you."

"But..."

"Ginny, I'll never want anyone but you. I thought I'd been clear on that."

"But, Harry..."

"Would you be having this reaction if Charlie or Bill had done what Tonks did?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "It's not because..."

"Then understand this, Tonks, as far as I'm concerned, is just a guy with breasts. She's a great friend, and I love her, but not that way. Never that way. I don't..."

"It's not you, Harry. And it's not Tonks. It's me."

"What?"

"I don't want to think of a world where you don't love me," she said in a small voice, but Harry could tell there was more.

"Then don't, because I do."

"But..."

"No more buts, Ginny."

Ginny looked helplessly at him for a moment, then down at the quilt. "I'm supposed to be the one who believes in you. To watch someone do something like that... and another woman..."

"Her being a woman is immaterial. She's a damned fine auror, and a wonderful friend. Someday I hope she and Remus get it together and make lots of little Tonks' and Remus'. Understand?"

"I feel like I've failed you."

"How?"

"Because Tonks was willing to go so much further in her devotion to you."

"Tonks isn't going to marry me, Ginny. That's a pretty huge commitment to me on your part."

"But..."

"Ginny, I want you to have free will, to love me because you've chosen to love me, not because you're bound to."

Ginny looked at him for a moment, then smiled through her tears. "How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make me see reason when it's the last thing I want to do?"

"I don't know. Hidden talent, I guess," he chuckled.

"Oh, Harry!" She threw her arms around him again and smiled into his chest. And, of course, Harry couldn't resist her then.

It was several minutes later when there was a soft knock on the door. They jumped apart, Harry edging back to the end of the bed, and Ginny curling up against the headboard, pulling a pillow out to clutch to her chest.

"Harry?"

"C... come in!" he called, trying to look casual, and failing dismally he knew.

"Harry? Oh... Ginny... here you are..." Molly stuck her head around the door, her eyebrows edging towards each other as she saw the two of them seated on the bed. "Ginny, I was worried when I couldn't find you."

"Sorry, Mrs Weasley... I found her, but we kind of needed to ... talk."

"That's fine, that's fine. Are you done now?" Molly pushed the door open all the way.

"I... it's been a rough day, Mum... I just... I needed to be with Harry alone for a while," Ginny said.

"Well, you can be... just leave the door open, love... you know, we wouldn't want any undue talk..."

"Undue..." Ginny's eyes darkened. "Mum..."

"Ginny, nice young ladies do not visit young men in their bedrooms with the door closed."

"Mum! As if anything would happen with you and Dad in the house!"

Molly, not quite sure how to respond to this, flushed and then nodded at the door. "Well, you take as long as you need, I'll just... leave this open, then."

Harry tried not to laugh while Ginny threw an extremely nasty look at her mother's retreating back.

"Oooh... she just..."

"Loves you, Gin," Harry smiled at her.

Ginny turned on him, about to comment, but when she saw him, reclining on his side, his head supported by one arm, the corner of her mouth gave her away, twisting up before she smiled and dove on him.

"Ginny!"

"She said we could have as long as we liked... so long as we kept the door open."

"She did, didn't she?"

"She did, indeed," Ginny smiled down at him, capturing his lips with hers and making his stomach wrench as she kissed him very thoroughly.

"I'm not quite sure that that's what your Mum had in mind," Harry gasped for breath as she released him some minutes later.

"I'm not sure of anything at all," Ginny admitted, throwing herself onto her back and staring at the ceiling. "I would like to ask where you learned to kiss like that, Harry Potter, but I think I might get jealous if you told me."

"Why? It was you who taught me everything I know."

"Me?" Ginny turned her head to look at him, her fiery hair splayed out around her, her eyes dancing. "I came to you a complete innocent, Mr Potter. You're the one who..."

"Alright, alright..." Harry sat up, very aware of the open door behind them.

"I love you, Harry," he looked down at her to see that she'd turned serious yet again. Ginny's moods could change faster than...

It must be the red hair.

"I know. You have no idea of how strong that makes me," he responded, leaning down and kissing her softly. "Now, off to bed before I..."

"Promises, promises!" she quipped as she jumped up from the bed. "If my parents weren't in the house..."

"But they are, so stop torturing me," he rose himself, walking back to the door, intending to go down and read over the notes that he'd left in the study.

"Hmm, torture is it then?"

"Being without you is... painful, Ginny," he admitted softly.

Chocolate brown eyes met green, and she smiled. "I can't wait until next year, Harry."

"Nor can I," he sighed as he followed her out. "Nor can I."

* * *

_Ah, I can hear the flames now... and you're all right. Ginny IS stronger than that, but it's been a very rough day for her, folks. Harry is beginning to experience a little of what it's like to be with a woman through good AND bad..._

_CQ_

_**Kazziedal:** It blocked the site name you put in your review, but I did a google and found it. Cool!_

_**Padfootlives101:** Well, ten, maybe, depending on the length of the book... I know **I'll** be incommunicado for that time. My kids and I are lining up at the bookstore at midnight!_

_**Trixie7:** Hermione is rather easily distracted these days, isn't she? _

_**Manatheron: ** I'll let you know. Right now my hands are full with this, and clearing out my basement. Anyone want to help me declutter?_

_**RyougaZell:** Neville is an Assistant Professor while he apprentices with Professor Sprout._

_**Larna Mandrea:** More to it? Isn't there always? As for Seamus, well, I killed off your Hufflepuffs, so..._

_**Shotgunn:** Man, Scott, paranoid much? Holy cow... I've created a monster!_

_**OldCrow:** It's difficult sometimes to write what you THINK he'll be like in coming years, without messing with OTHER people's ideas of what he'll be like (enough to get flamed, anyhow!). But as I have said before... I just write what the muse tells me to. She gets right riled if I add (or delete) anything! I think he would do stuff like that, as well... I suppose we'll just have to wait and see to know for sure._

_**JapaneseJew:** Isn't that odd? I've not seen anything like that yet, myself. I guess with 130,000+ fics, most ideas have been used before!_

_**Realfanficts:** Ah, someone who knows what to expect from me..._

_**BrittSchrick:** Answer the question? Hope so!_

_**Kordolin:** I'm looking forward to an entire day with a good thick book of JKR's brilliance, a pot of tea, and then a GAZILLION fanfic ideas..._

_**Froboy:** Thanks!_

_**Alli-Baby:** Nope – sorry, no Mary Sues... They always get their heart broken in the end, Alli..._

_**Weselan:** See how well you know me?_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: The Return to Hogwarts

Platform 9¾ was packed with back to school travelers on the first of September. At ten forty, Harry, Ginny and Ron stepped through the barrier, closely followed by Molly, Arthur and Bill. Harry looked around, absently fingering his wand as he took in the scene around him.

"Harry?" Ginny looked up at him, concerned.

"I wish you could floo, Ginny," he glanced around nervously.

"Harry, I'll be fine, really," he could tell she was trying hard not to laugh.

"Eight hours on a train. Anything could..." He felt a little indignant. Things had happened. Things had happened _on the train_. Look at his third year... _dementors_, for Merlin's sake!

"Harry, she'll be fine," Bill said from behind, a smirk on his face. "I'll be along for the ride, remember?"

Harry felt an urge to tell Bill to glue himself to her side and not let anything happen to her, but he knew that Bill would probably be doing that anyhow, and he'd just look like an idiot. Instead, he swallowed, and nodded.

Bill had taken Ginny's safety very seriously since the attack on the Burrow. Perhaps even more so than Harry. It was Bill's wards that had seemingly failed, allowing the attackers in, and he wasn't taking it well. Bill's wards never failed, and he was driving himself hard trying to figure out how it had happened. The odd part was, they didn't appear to have been brought down, at all, yet the attack had taken place.

Dumbledore and Harry had exchanged concerned looks when they realized that. The only other way that an attack could have happened on the Burrow would be if someone who knew what the wards were comprised of had given that information to the attackers. Neither Harry nor Dumbledore could believe that anyone in the Weasley family or the Order would have done this.

It was all very confusing.

Harry had beefed up the security around Potter Manor himself, with the help of Hermione. There was no one person, other than himself, who knew of all of the protections. Hermione and the Weasleys would now be the only residents, and Harry wanted them safe. He'd also asked Dobby to do what he could to protect them. Harry knew, from his second year, that the house elf had the ability to set wards of his own, to keep people out of where he didn't want them to be. Hopefully, the mysteriously powerful magic of the house elves would help to keep any possible attackers out.

"Harry, I'll be fine, I promise. I'll talk to you tonight, after the feast, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!" Neville jogged up to them, dragging Luna along behind him. "Fancy seeing you lot here!"

"Nev, Luna..." Ron greeted them.

"You off today, as well?" Neville asked, looking at the two of them.

"No... we'll be... going separately," Harry said in a low voice. "You?"

"I've been told I can ride the train. I'm an apprentice, so..." Neville hated traveling by magical means, and only apparated when it was absolutely necessary. Harry wished for a moment that he had the same excuse.

"Ah..." Harry put a hand on Neville's shoulder and turned him away, speaking to him in an undertone. "Keep an eye on things, okay?"

"Is there a problem?" Neville suddenly looked worried.

"Just..."

"He's just being overprotective, Neville," Ginny said in a firm voice. "You'd think I was helpless."

"Just..." Harry looked at him again, then glanced around the crowd.

"I will, Harry. You know that," Neville nodded, turning back to the group as the first warning whistle blew.

"I have to get on, Harry," Ginny called out.

"Your trunk?"

"Bill's already put it on. Mum, Dad..." Ginny hugged them both, then turned to Harry, moving into his arms.

He kissed her long and hard, and Ginny responded as Ginny always responded, with everything that was in her. It was a moment later that Harry surfaced to the sound of a throat being cleared. He flushed to the roots of his hair, and pulled away, turning to see the members of the Weasley family all looking at them with varying degrees of discomfort.

"Be careful," he whispered to Ginny. "Wand out."

"I'm not sitting with my wand in my lap for the entire trip, Harry," she looked at him with laughter in her eyes.

"You have money for the cart?"

"I'm _fine_," she kissed his cheek and then grabbed Luna's hand and pulled her towards the train, towards where Neville stood on the steps to help them aboard. "Bye!"

Harry stood silent as the second warning blew, and then as the train pulled away. He didn't move until it was a red blur in the distance.

"Oi, Potter..."

He turned to see Ron standing shaking his head at him, a slight smirk playing about the corners of his mouth. "Are you coming, or are you going to stand there like an idiot watching her go?"

"She's..." Harry gestured helplessly at the train in the distance.

"I know what she is to you, Harry, but you're standing on an empty train platform, gazing into the distance, and she's not coming back that way until June. The quickest route to her is to get your skates on and go _that_ way," Ron pointed back towards the barrier. "So, can we go?"

Harry sighed and followed his friend through the barrier and out.

* * *

Back at the Manor, Harry was packing his trunk when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," he called, glancing over his shoulder as the door opened to admit Mrs Weasley. She quietly closed it behind her and looked over at him.

"Have you everything you need, Harry?"

"I think so. I can always pop back if I've forgotten anything."

"Harry?" She came and sat on the bed next to his folded robes and looked up at him. Harry felt a shiver along his spine. This was going to be an uncomfortable conversation, he just knew it. "Harry, I..."

"What is it, Mrs Weasley?" he finished putting the last robe into the trunk, closed the lid, and sat down on it, facing her.

"Harry, I'm concerned."

"About?"

"About you and... and our Ginny."

"Ah," Harry nodded, taking a breath.

"Harry... this morning... at Kings Cross..."

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Mrs Weasley."

"No... no... just..." she looked around the room, obviously uncomfortable, her eyes darted about until they landed on a hair clip sitting on the dresser. Ginny's. She flushed. "Harry, Ginny is my daughter..."

"Mrs Weasley, I love her."

"I think... I think we all know that, Harry, but... well, there are things that are appropriate and things that aren't... and..."

Harry nodded, looking down at his hands.

"Until... until you're sure..."

"Sure?"

"Oh, Harry, this is so difficult! It would be easier if you weren't... you... or if it was some other girl we were talking about, but it's not. It _is _you, and it _is _our Ginny, and..."

"You're saying that the more..." Harry swallowed, felt his cheeks pinken, and then took a deep breath. If he couldn't have this conversation with Mrs Weasley, then he shouldn't be with Ginny. "That the more... serious... aspects of our relationship should wait until we're... certain of each other."

"Yes. I know it's difficult. I was eighteen once, too, but..."

"Mrs Weasley," he looked up and into her face. "I asked Ginny to marry me in June."

Her brown eyes rounded as she stared at him, her hand came up to her mouth and she seemed... speechless. Which, for Molly Weasley, was saying something.

"You..."

"I asked her to marry me before we left school in June. The day I left the hospital wing. She accepted."

"But..."

"We wanted to wait to announce it after she's graduated. I want her to finish school... and..."

"Oh, Harry!" Molly cried. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Because it's just... ours... for now. We agreed to not say anything to anyone until after. There didn't seem much point in getting everyone worked up about her finishing school when..."

"Oh..."

Harry was stunned to see tears in her eyes.

"I... I spoke to Mr Weasley. I don't want you to think I didn't do this properly. I spoke to him last year, and told him that as soon as Voldemort was... well, I told him what I planned to do."

"We knew what you had _planned_, love, but you didn't... we didn't know..."

"That I'd already done it?"

"Yes."

"Ginny is in no doubt of how I feel about her, or what I want with her."

"I see that now," Molly nodded. "Just..."

"You have nothing to worry about," he said softly, seeing the relief in the eyes of the witch who'd been more a mother to him than any other. "She's precious to me, as well."

* * *

Harry and Ron flooed into Dumbledore's office at three o'clock that afternoon. They were greeted by Dumbledore, Madame Hooch, and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry, Ron... You've arrived. wonderful, wonderful."

"Professor..."

"Harry, in private, it's Albus. You, too, Ron. We're colleagues now. In front of the students, I should be addressed in a more formal manner, but otherwise..."

"Yes, sir," Ron nodded, earning a smile from the headmaster, and a pinkening of his own cheeks.

"I am very pleased to be working with you, Harry," Professor McGonagall stepped forward, a welcoming smile on her face. Harry was stunned at how it transformed her usual dour expression.

"Professor McGonagall."

"Minerva," she corrected, her blue eyes drilling into him.

"Yes... Min... Minerva," Harry swallowed. This was going to be harder than he had thought.

"Rolanda," Madame Hooch stepped forward, shaking Ron's hand first, then Harry's. "I'm so glad that you've been able to come and relieve me, Professor Weasley."

Ron grinned self-consciously at the title, glancing at Harry, then at Dumbledore before composing himself and giving another sheepish grin. "That's something I _wouldn't_ be able to get used to. It's Ron."

"Nonetheless, you and Harry both will be addressed as professors by the students," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "_All_ of the students."

"Even my sister?" Ron snorted. "Hope you'll be the one to tell her that."

"It will take some getting used to in the beginning," Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with humor. "Most of the students, besides the first years, of course, remember you as students. I would suggest being... lenient... in the beginning, but firm. We do have to maintain a certain level of decorum about the place."

"Perhaps, Albus, we should see our new professors to their quarters?" Minerva McGonagall suggested, not waiting for Dumbledore to agree before leading the way to the door.

"Certainly, Minnie, certainly," the old headmaster came around his desk and followed.

Ron and Harry traded amazed looks. _Minnie?_

After taking their leave of Madame Hooch at the head of the main staircase, Harry and Ron followed the other two along the halls until they were in the third floor east corridor.

"We rather thought the two of you... and Mr Longbottom, of course... should be nearby each other," Minerva smiled. "Mr Weasley... if you'll follow me... you're just along here."

Ron, raising his eyebrows, nodded at Harry and followed his old head of house. Harry turned to Dumbledore.

"This is your door, Harry. The password is 'Quidditch'..."

"Same as the Tower," Harry smiled.

"Last year, yes. This year it has been changed, of course," Dumbledore led the way into the small apartment. Harry noticed a well-furnished lounge and a study area. Two doors led out of the room on either side of the large fireplace. "Harry, I must impress upon you that you are not a member of any house, and only the heads of each house have the privilege of entering the student dormitories for any reason other than emergency. Should you feel the need to enter Gryffindor Tower, you will require the permission of Minerva..."

"Professor..."

"Albus," the headmaster corrected automatically.

"Albus..."

"I am aware of the unique situation, and I would appreciate it if you and Miss Weasley were... circumspect about your relationship in front of others."

"I understand, Professor."

"Now, having said that, I do understand what it is to be young, but should Miss Weasley be _caught_," he placed direct emphasis on this word. "In your quarters, it would necessitate her leaving Hogwarts. You do... understand?"

"I do."

"We must, as much as I detest the hypocrisy of it, endeavor to keep up appearances, for appearances sake, Harry."

"I understand, Professor."

"Excellent," Albus nodded. "Well, then... the Welcoming Feast convenes at seven o'clock. I do like the professors to be seated when the students arrive. You will be introduced as the new DADA professor, at which time you should stand, recognize the student body, and sit back down. It's all that will be required of you this evening..."

"Albus?"

"Yes?"

"I have one concern..."

"What is it, Harry?"

"Well, it's common knowledge that Professor Snape has wanted this position for... some time. I am concerned that..."

"That he'll attempt to hex you into next week?" Albus' beard moved as he smiled.

"In one form or another," Harry agreed dryly.

"Harry, Severus is fully aware of the necessity of having you here. He is still a member of the Order, and a devoted one, at that."

"So he understands..."

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded and moved towards the doorway. "Which isn't to say, Harry, that he has undergone a... personality change... since last year. You understand?"

"Indeed I do, Headmaster," Harry nodded, a slight smile on his face.

"Good. Then all should go swimmingly. I shall see you at the Feast."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

The Welcoming Feast felt odd. Harry and Ron went down together, Ron talking endlessly about the comfort and size of his quarters.

"I mean it, Harry... it's bigger than... well, the entire third floor of the Burrow. I've got more room than the twins, Percy and I had all _together!"_

They were met by Poppy Pomfrey, smiling happily at them as they entered the Great Hall.

"It's wonderful to have new staff!" she smiled. "Do come... the two of you can sit with Professor Vector and myself...come, come!"

Harry and Ron, trading odd looks, followed her to the head table and sat where they were told to. Ron looked down at the house tables and smiled. "Looks different from up here."

"That it does!" Madam Pomfrey smiled. "I remember my first year up here... well, I'd gone and trained as a mediwitch in between, of course, but..."

As she rambled on, with the odd comment made by Professor Vector, Harry watched the doors. Finally, after what seemed ages, they opened, and students began filing in. Harry watched for the red head he knew would be there. He was still looking when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Harry."

"Nev, you made it," Ron called.

"Yes. It felt odd being on the train again."

"Everything go... okay?" Harry asked.

"Great. Not a hitch," Neville sat down in the chair next to Ron.

"Bill got off okay?"

"Last I saw him, he was talking to the stationmaster at Hogsmeade as the carriages pulled away."

"Good," Harry let out the breath he felt he'd been holding since leaving Ginny at King's Cross that morning. "Where's Ginny?"

"Umm..." Neville flushed.

"Nev?" Harry felt anxiety rising once more.

"She and Luna were going to..." Neville dropped his voice to a whisper," ..._the loo_."

"Ah," Harry nodded, turning back to the doors.

Which was when he became aware of the whispers and quiet around the Great Hall. Normally, the crowd was difficult to silence prior to the Welcoming Feast. Dumbledore always had a difficult time settling everyone so he could address them. He wouldn't have that problem this year. Harry flushed as he realized what they were talking about.

Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter sitting at the Professor's table at Hogwarts.

_What on earth were you thinking?_ He heard the voice very clearly in his head. He must have been insane when he agreed to teach DADA here.

"We all feel that way the first year, Potter," Harry looked to his right to see Professor Snape seated there.

"Professor Snape..."

"It is always difficult the first year. You will cope."

"I'm sure that I will, sir. Thank you."

"Despite our... difficulties... in past, Potter, the nature of our subjects of authority demand that we work together at times. I hope that we can... move beyond our personal history?"

"I would wish that, as well, Professor. I am here to do a job."

"I recognize that. If there is anything you require... for your classes, I will assist in whatever way I can."

"Thank you, I shall keep that in mind," Harry said, rather surprised at Snape's demeanor. This was going to take some getting used to.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of red and his eyes turned automatically. There was Ginny, laughing with her housemates and smiling up at him, a knowing twinkle in her eye as she glanced at Snape seated next to him and back, shaking her head.

He winked, then turned back to Poppy Pomfrey and asked her if a bed was still reserved for him in the hospital wing. She laughed, about to respond, but at that moment Professor Dumbledore stood and the room became quiet.

"Students... it is wonderful to see you all back. Shall we get on with things, so that we can get on with the feast?"

A cheer resounded through the huge hall, and Harry felt something settle in him. He was back at Hogwarts, and it was where he was meant to be. At least, for now.

* * *

_**BrittSchrick:** Glad it made sense!_

_**LadyIlana:** That's so nice of you! What will you be doing on the 18th of July? Reading what I'll be posting after having read HBP, of course! Can you imagine all the juices that will be flowing with us fanfic writers after JKR gives us new material to work with? I, for one, can't wait!_

_**CharminglyHolly:** That has to be one of the longest, nicest reviews I've gotten. Rather surreal at the end (llamas, pickles and squash?), but long, and nice!_

_**Shotgunn:** Molly's getting boring and predictable. I think I need to shake things up a bit with her._

_**Nightgames:** See? That's what I was trying for. Not everyone is "in character" all the time. That wouldn't be any fun at all._

_**Manatheron:** LOL! I wouldn't do that. The only ones I block are the real nasties. But I do tend to read with tongue-in-cheek at times..._

_**Wolf'sScream:** Ahhh! You've caught me out again – you are entirely correct – it is **indeed** 'Imperius' – blame it on the continued lack of caffiene in my diet. _

_**Kazziedal:** You adore your mother in law? Lucky you. Some of us aren't quite so fortunate!_

_**Kordolin:** Yes, she did. But what sixteen year old girl doesn't have "emo" times? I was reading another HG fic recently (not for long), and Ginny, at sixteen, was portrayed as some sort of super-natural, all-powerful woman. I certainly don't remember sixteen being that way – few do, I think, although it's a nice little dream!_

_**JapaneseJew:** You've read a thousand of these fics, and you remember details? Holy cowgirl! I'm not surprised, actually – because many of the same themes reoccur. Kind of makes me wonder what all the Harry/Hermione shippers are going to do when JKR blows that little ship right out of the water (I'm ducking!)._

_**And to the rest, thank you: **Volleypickle16, GinnyRoseWeasley, FroBoy, AlliBaby_


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay, I'm being extra-nice today, and leaving you with an extra chapter. Why? You know me too well to not question my motives... well, it all has to do with where I'm going to leave you for the weekend..._

_CQ_

_

* * *

_

Chapter Eight: What's Going On At the Ministry?

Hermione Granger's eyes took in the words written on the parchment in front of her, scarcely able to believe what she was reading. Nervously, knowing she could be caught at any moment, but unwilling to stop until she'd read it all, her eyes glanced at the doorway, then back to the parchment several times, taking in both the written words and the fact that Mr Marchbanks hadn't yet returned from his tea break.

The words danced on the page in front of her, and Hermione had never wished for a muggle camera more in her life. She knew that she would be prohibited by her vows to speak one word of this – to anyone – ever. But Dumbledore needed to know... the Order needed to know...

Harry needed to know.

What on earth was she to do?

Suddenly, hearing the tapping footsteps of Mr Marchbanks' hard-soled shoes on the marble tiles of the floor in the hallway outside the door to this room, she shuffled the papers and tried to appear as though engrossed in the report he'd handed her.

"Well, Miss Granger? What do you think?"

"I... I'm not sure what to think, Mr Marchbanks," she replied truthfully, straightening from the papers before her.

"Yes, yes. Of course, it's a fascinating subject, but what..."

"I was... I was wondering, Mr Marchbanks... if I could have a little more time to think about... this? Would it be possible for me to take this file home with me this evening and... we could discuss it more... tomorrow morning?

"Oh, I _am_ sorry, Miss Granger. I thought it was made clear to you that the files are not allowed to leave the Ministry?"

"Oh... yes..." Hermione flushed. "Of course... I..."

"Someone as eager as you are to learn, it's understandable, Miss Granger. You know, your esteemed Madam Pince is a personal friend of mine. She has commented to me on several occasions since you came to work here with us what an avaricious reader you are..."

Hermione flushed again, remembering intimately some of the rather... confrontational... conversations she'd had with the redoubtable Hogwarts librarian over the years.

"Yes... I... I do like to know what I'm talking about..."

"Of course, of course you do. Unfortunately, your studying on this particular subject will have to be undertaken wholly within the confines of the Ministry. Can't chance such things making it to the outside, now can we?"

Hermione smiled at the elderly wizard, to whom there appeared to be, in fact, three worlds. The muggle world being one, the world outside the doors of the Ministry of Magic the other, and the safe, ordered world he knew here, had worked in eighteen hours a day, six days a week, for over twenty years quite happily, safely inside the walls of the imposing Ministry of Magic building.

Hermione sighed. How on earth was she going to get this information to those who needed it? And furthermore, how was she going to feign interest in...

She glanced down at the file she had been meant to be reading while Mr Marchbanks took his tea break. The report she'd been meant to be reading when she realized that there was another, extra sheet stuck to the back of it that certainly wasn't meant to be there. The dry report that Mr Marchbanks was apparently about to go into raptures over, which had nothing to do with the last page, which she'd been hurriedly reading before her supervisor returned. The boring report they'd seen fit to have her start with.

_Policy for Standardization of Cauldron Bottoms in the European Market, a report by Percy I. Weasley_.

"Damn," she muttered, opening the file once more, much to the delight of Mr Marchbanks.

* * *

Harry's first class as a Professor was with the fourth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. He was very, very thankful that he was starting here, rather than with, say, a group of seventh years. He wasn't sure he would have done well if his first class was full of Ginny, Luna, and other seventh years he knew. 

He didn't know if it would be harder to face those who he knew... or remember those who should have been there and weren't. Like Colin.

The fourth years filed into his classroom early on the morning after the Welcoming Feast. He watched them come, unsmiling. These students had been third years last year. They would remember him as a student, not as a professor.

"Take your seats, please," he called out as they took their time about settling down. "We have rather a lot to cover this year and I'd like to begin."

"Har... Professor Potter?" A Gryffindor raised his hand. Harry remembered him as Jaren Matthews. He'd tried out for Quidditch last year, but hadn't made the team.

"Jaren?"

"I... I just wondered...?"

"What?"

"Why on earth you came back here?" Jaren asked, glancing at his classmates. "I mean... you could do _anything_... why teach DADA?"

"Because, Jaren," Harry said. "I don't want any of you to ever, ever, have to do what we did last year. I don't ever want to think of any of _you_ the way I think of Dean Thomas. I want every one of you to be able to defend yourselves, be able to defend your families, and not live in fear. That is why I've chosen to come back here. To teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, rather than take up the Ministry on their undoubtedly tempting offers."

There were scattered chuckles from around the room. A Ravenclaw girl's hand rose.

"Yes... I'm sorry, I haven't done the roll call yet, and I don't know your name."

"Marisa Kelly, Professor," the pretty little blonde said firmly. "I just... I wanted to know..."

"Yes, Marisa?"

"Well... Voldemort is gone... why do we have to...?"

"Marisa," Harry looked at her, his green eyes penetrating. "Lucky you."

"Lucky me, Professor?"

"Lucky you," Harry smiled. "To believe we live in a world with only one evil."

There were scattered mutterings about the room.

"I'm going to start this class with a quote," Harry smiled, taking up his wand and flicking it at the board behind him. Words suddenly appeared written there, and all the students flew for their quills. "No need to write it down. You'll all know it by the end of the year by heart, I promise you, without ever writing it down once.

"This is a favorite of one of my... mentors. A wizard... an auror... who taught me a lot about Defense and the Dark Arts... _Constant Vigilance_. That's what it takes, to live in peace. Forever, constant vigilance. If we are constantly vigilant... we will never again get to the point where one misanthrope, one monster such as Voldemort, acquires such power over our world that we live in constant fear. Now... turn to page seventeen in your text books, please, and who can tell me what _nex habitum_ does?"

* * *

Harry found his classes easier than he had thought they would be. Most of the students had questions about the final battle, things to ask that didn't have much to do with DADA, and Harry discouraged this, but for the most part, they were all eager to learn, and Harry surprised himself by being eager to teach. 

Dumbledore surprised him one evening as he turned the last corner in his walk back to his private quarters. Harry nearly ran into the elderly wizard, righting himself just in time.

"Headmaster..." he nodded. "Sorry about that."

"My fault entirely, Harry," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I shouldn't have been lurking around corners."

"Were you... lurking?"

"Oh, indeed. You'd be surprised at what you can find out by lurking about this old castle."

"Actually, I probably wouldn't," Harry grinned.

"Yes, well... for those of us who haven't made a hobby of it for the past six years..."

"Oh, nearly seven," Harry grinned. "Ever since a certain someone felt the need to provide me with my cloak."

"Yes, handy, something like that," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"You have no idea," Harry said. "Were you looking for me?"

"Indeed, I was, Harry. I would like to speak with you. Privately."

"Come in, then," Harry opened the door to his quarters and entered, leading the way to the comfortable armchairs in front of the fire. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you," Dumbledore sat. "Harry... I wish to discuss your training."

"Ah," Harry nodded. "Are we ready, then?"

"Yes. Our auror friends have decided that Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings and Saturdays would work best for their schedules and yours... and the others, of course."

_There goes Saturdays in Hogsmeade with Ginny_...

"I understand, of course, that there are certain... well..." Dumbledore smiled. "Suffice to say, we will be making an exception of Hogsmeade weekends. For obvious reasons."

Harry grinned. "And the others?"

"Professor Weasley and Professor Longbottom are eager to begin, as well. I spoke to Ron this morning and..."

"Yes," Harry nodded, chagrined. "I spoke to him, as well."

"Then I would imagine he has related to you his rather... intense... physical education plan for the three of you through the week?"

"In... detail," Harry sighed. Ron's idea of 'keeping in shape' required dawn runs about the grounds daily, and an exercise regiment that would make most professional athletes quail. He'd related his plan to the other two that morning at breakfast, and Neville had looked positively green. Especially after Ron mentioned the bit about helping out with the Quidditch team, and requiring flying time. Neville hated flying.

Dumbledore smiled, the twitching of his beard a good indication of his amusement. "Yes, well, he is... eager."

"Yes," Harry nodded. "So, this weekend?"

"We shall begin on Friday evening in the Room of Requirement, please."

"I'll be there. Would you like me to mention it to the others?"

"That would be helpful... save me a trip about the castle," Dumbledore nodded, rising.

"Harry..."

"Yes, Prof... Albus?" he corrected himself, flushing.

"You do understand..."

"Understand what?"

"This doesn't have to be your fight. You do know that?"

"My fight?"

"This new uprising. You've done your part, Harry. No one would fault you for..."

"Standing back?"

"Yes."

"This will _always_ be my fight, Albus. Always. After everything that Voldemort did, to me, to those I care about... anyone who follows him, or his ways... well, I see now what it is that I'm here for."

"What is it that you think you're here for, Harry?"

"This. Fighting them. Keeping them from gaining power once more. Teaching others to do the same. I've been doing it for so long... with the DA club... well, ever since my first year, actually. I'd rather dismissed it as... well, I just didn't consider it as a career option, I guess."

"You've done your share. More than your share."

"We don't have 'shares' in this, Albus. It's there and needs to be done, and until it's finished, we all must do what we can. I can teach others, I can train myself, I can fight this. When I'm finished, you'll know."

Dumbledore watched him levelly for a moment, then gave a quick, sharp nod and headed for the door.

"Oh, and Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Miss Tonks will be here on Friday..."

"And?"

"You must be careful now."

"Of what?"

"Of how you phrase things to her. Her vows will require that she consider everything you say... quite literally."

"What?"

"Just... well, I'm sure you'll see. Just try and not say anything... flip... around her. Until you get the idea of how this works, at any rate."

Harry was left watching the door close behind the Headmaster, and wondering what he meant by that last.

* * *

_How many days until HBP? Hmm... I have 24 days to finish this up before I lose my audience..._

_CQ_

_**RyougaZell:** Sorry, I tried to write that scene, but it just didn't come out right, so no, you won't be seeing that happen. _

_**Shotgunn:** My, aren't we defensive on the topic of Molly? Poor Harry, never free of the nasty Dark Lord..._

_**Japanese Jew:** Stop guessing the bloody plotlines! Am I** that** predictable? Grr..._

_**WolfsScream:** "Get your skates on" is a typical Scouse phrase meaning "hurry up" or "get moving"... and if you don't know what a Scouser is, I'm afraid all hope is lost for you. However, ten chocolate chip cookies to the reader who **can** tell me! I have a feeling it'll be a Brit..._

_**Gerie:** Nope – none of that here!_

_**Manatheron:** Inappropriate? REALLY? LOL!_

_**And the rest, thank you: **MissyMee, Nightgames, HarryGinnyluv4ever, JediKnightBus, BrittSchrick_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Relationships

His last class on Friday afternoon was with the seventh year NEWT students. Due to the fact that many students didn't return after fifth year, and not all of those took all subjects, the NEWT level DADA class was populated with twelve students, with representatives from each house. Ginny, grinning, sat next to Luna. Other than passing in the halls and one memorable moment after being dragged bodily into a broom closet on the fourth floor, it was the first opportunity Harry had had to see her all week.

He could feel his blood begin to pound just watching her eyes dance.

"Um... Professor Potter?" A Ravenclaw looked at him oddly. "Are you okay?"

Harry, gathering himself, shook his head and strode to the door. Closing it and setting locking and privacy charms, he turned back to the class, all of whom, other than Ginny and Luna, were looking at him rather strangely.

"Now, ground rules," he strode back and paced in front of his desk.

"Sir?"

"None of that in here," Harry said, stopping suddenly and spearing a Hufflepuff boy with a look. "Okay, I've wondered how I was going to deal with this. This isn't going to be easy."

"What is, Professor?" Ginny asked smoothly, without raising her hand.

"That... that," Harry said, pointing at her. "This 'Professor' business with you lot."

"But..." Luna began.

"Look, the staff... the headmaster has been most clear on the rules. But you lot... I don't think it's going to work with you."

The students were silent, watching him carefully.

"Most of you," Harry glanced at a couple of Slytherins in the back. "Most of you were in the DA..."

"Which is why most of us are still here," Ginny said quietly.

"Nonetheless, I'm still just Harry to you, got it? Outside, in the corridors, in front of the other students, the headmaster insists. But in here, it's like a DA club meeting, okay?"

There were nods and agreements from around the classroom. Harry was surprised when one of the Slytherin's hands went up. A boy, Harry thought his name was Garfield. Jim? Jack... Jack Garfield.

"Harry..."

"Yes, Jack?"

The boy looked surprised that Harry remembered his name, and faltered for a moment. "Um... I just... I just wanted to say that... well, some of us would very much have _liked_ to be in the DA club, but..."

"I understand, Jack. But that's no longer an issue, is it?" Harry thought briefly of Malfoy, then dismissed him. Dead wannabe deatheaters didn't concern him. It was the live ones that were the problem.

"No," Jack Garfield nodded, turned to his housemate with an expression that clearly said 'See?' The classmate looked unconvinced.

_Trouble, there, _thought Harry. _ Have to watch that._

"So, now that we've got that settled, shall we get some work done?"

After dismissing the class two hours later, Harry was collecting his materials together in the small office off of the back of the classroom when he heard the door open, close, and locking and privacy charms laid down. Curious, he stepped out onto the small staircase that led down into the classroom and smiled.

Ginny.

"Well, hello, Professor," she looked up at him, tossing her bookbag on a nearby desk and heading towards him.

Harry swallowed.

"G-Ginny... I..."

"I have a problem that I need your help with," she said, coming up the stairs and passing him, entering his small office after running her hand across his chest.

"Ginny... you..."

"Get in here, Harry. Before I change my mind and leave."

"Ginny, we can't, not here!"

"Oh?" she smiled again, closing the door behind him as she pulled him in, and setting several more charms. "I've hardly seen you all week. We don't even get to _eat_ together, you're busy tonight and tomorrow. I assure you, Harry, we most definitely _can_."

Later, much later, Harry walked with her down the hallway towards his quarters.

"I need to get ready, or I'm going to be late," he said softly. "Go and eat. I'll try to find you later."

"I could meet you here," she said, indicating the door to his rooms.

"Ginny, if you get caught in my quarters, Dumbledore will have no choice but to expel you," Harry said solemnly. "We do need to talk, but..."

"Where's your cloak, Harry?" she asked softly. "Give me your cloak and the password, and no one will ever see me, I promise."

"Ginny, you can't get chucked. Understand?"

"I understand," she agreed.

"Your parents would..." he took a breath. "I couldn't do that to them, Gin."

"I understand, Harry. Now, go and get your cloak."

* * *

Harry and Ron entered the Room of Requirement just a little before seven, to find Tonks, Kingsley and Remus all there. Moments later, Seamus came through the door with Dumbledore, and Neville jogged in two minutes late.

"You're late, Longbottom," Kingsley said.

"Sorry, sir... I..."

Kingsley straightened, a grin on his face. "Longbottom, relax. You're no longer a Hogwarts student. I was kidding."

"But..."

"Relax, Neville," Remus said. "Kingsley does have a sense of humor, even if it's not out much."

Tonks, surprisingly, was silent through all of this. Harry's attention was drawn to her, because normally, she would have been in the thick of it, teasing and taunting, and holding her own. But she wasn't. She stood off to the side, watching.

Kingsley began their lesson then, setting them against each other, showing them the basic auror moves for self protection, and then staging mock duels with each of them. Harry ended his session with Kingsley panting. He was good. Very good.

"Merlin, Harry, how do you _do_ that?" Kingsley came over to him, breathing hard himself.

"What?"

"_That_!" Kingsley indicated the duelling area they'd cleared. "That was bloody unreal!"

"Well..."

"You're all very good," Remus said, ending his session with Neville. "I think we can forget basic duelling and start showing them some more advanced moves, don't you, Kingsley?"

"Absolutely. Tonks, can you take Harry over there and begin to show him your flips? Remus and I will work with the others for now. I noticed, Neville, the way you hold your wand..."

Harry and Tonks moved to the other side of the room, where she began by showing him how to do a flip off the wall. Harry watched closely, highly doubting he'd be able to, but trying anyhow. Strangely enough, it wasn't as difficult as it looked.

When Tonks was certain that he had it down, she told him they'd have a short duel and he was to incorporate the flip in somewhere as an avoidance tactic. Harry didn't like the light in her eyes, but agreed.

A few moments later, Harry knew why he hadn't liked the look in her eyes. Tonks was fighting hard, and Harry was beginning to get a little frightened. Throwing himself into it, he finally did a flip off the wall and managed to disarm her. She stopped, panting.

"Tonks?" Harry handed her back her wand.

"Yes, Harry?"

"What the hell was that all about?"

Immediately, she turned to him and was about to begin when he saw the look on her face. She looked... upset.

"You okay?"

"I'm..." she swallowed.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," Harry said, not understanding what was going on. "You just seem upset. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Remus and I..." she glanced over at the werewolf. "We've had a bit of a disagreement."

"Oh," Harry glanced at the older wizard and then back to Tonks. "You're okay, though?"

"I'm upset. He says..."

"What did he say?"

"He doesn't want... he doesn't want to..."

"Tonks, if this is something you don't want to talk to me about, then don't. I just... if I can help...?"

"He's just... I'm rather upset about his attitude on something, that's all."

"Well, then you need to tell him that, and then kiss and make up," Harry commented, glancing at Ron and Neville across the room where they were both duelling with Kingsley as Seamus and Remus looked on.

When he turned back to talk to Nymph, he was surprised to see her gone. Immediately, he saw her striding over to Remus, only to stop in front of him and say, quite clearly,

"Remus, it bothers me that you don't want to have a family with me. Children are important to me, but not just anyone's children. _Your_ children. If I don't have kids with you, then I won't be having them at all, and I really, really, really want them. Lots of them."

And much to Harry's shock, not to mention Remus', she then proceeded to throw her arms around him and kiss him, long and hard.

Harry glanced at the others. Seamus and Neville were watching with their mouths open. Kingsley and Ron stopped in the middle of their duel to watch.

Remus, pulling away from her, looked down into her eyes, then around the room. "Um... Tonks and I will... we'll just be a minute..."

The other occupants of the room watched silently as Remus led her to the door and out.

"Alrighty then," Kingsley said. "Ron and Harry, Seamus and Neville, let's go. One on one. I want to see what you can do. Charms _only_,please!"

Tonks and Remus returned a few minutes later. Harry noticed that Tonks' eyes were red, and Remus had a look on his face... well, he looked strained. Harry sighed. They continued as before, but the class seemed to be over far too soon.

"I'll be back with a couple of others tomorrow," Kingsley said. "This is going to take rather less time than I thought. Keep up with Ron's fitness regimen..."

Neville groaned.

"Most of Auror training is physical activity and exercise," Kingsley grinned. "If you do as Ron has outlined, in addition to these classes, you'll be trained before you know it."

"What about the theory?" Harry asked. It was Ron's turn to groan.

"You've got most of that, Harry. You've been teaching it without knowing it to the DA club," Kingsley said as he packed away a few things in his rucksack. "There is a section in the library on it... check out what's there."

They were about to leave when Remus called out, "Harry... a moment?"

Harry paused, indicated that he'd meet the others in Ron's quarters shortly, where they were planning on having a drink and talking about their class before Seamus had to leave, and turned back. Once the door closed behind the others, Remus sighed.

"Harry..."

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get involved. I had _no_ idea that that was what your fight was about..."

"She told you?"

"She... Remus... I don't think she really had a choice," Harry admitted. During the remainder of the class, Harry had thought about it, and Dumbledore's warning had come back to him.

"What?"

"I..." Harry shrugged. "I didn't think. She was obviously taking out some heavy-duty frustration with me while we were sparring, and I asked her what the hell was wrong. She told me that you'd had a fight. I didn't think, Remus. I'm sorry... I just... I was frustrated at being used as a punching bag and kind of told her, rather than taking it out on me, to tell you what was bothering her and then kiss and make up. I didn't..."

Remus began to laugh.

Harry stopped, surprised. That certainly wasn't the reaction he'd expected.

"Oh, Harry..." Remus calmed. "I suppose I should have expected this."

"Remus," Harry sat down on one of the desks and looked at the floor. "I've got to tell you, I'm not too pleased."

"What?"

"This... Tonks' doing what she did."

"She did nothing but declare something that was already there, Harry. I honestly believe she'd go through fire for you."

"I know. But now she's... she's _bound_ to it, and I don't..."

"Harry..."

"That should... that kind of devotion should be reserved for you, and I don't want to be..."

"Harry, relax."

"But..."

"I knew she was doing this, Harry, and I have to admit that... well, perhaps I had an underlying motivation in encouraging her to do it."

"What?"

"Harry, I can't give Nymph what she needs. I don't want her to devote her life to something that I can't give her. I wanted her to have... something else. Something of hers. Something to show her that I wasn't..."

"What?"

"Nymph can be very... focussed."

"Uh... yes," Harry remembered her sparring earlier. "I _had_ noticed."

"And lately, she's been focussed on me."

"So?"

"And I don't know how comfortable I am with that."

Harry stared at the older wizard for a moment.

"Don't, Remus," he said in a low voice.

Remus looked up at him to see the coolness in Harry's green eyes. "Harry?"

"Don't play with her feelings. Don't... don't treat her like that."

"Harry... I..."

"If you don't feel about her the way she feels about you, that's fine, but you have to tell her. If you do..."

"I do. That's what frightens me."

"If you care that much about her, Remus, you won't let anything stand in your way."

"Harry, I don't want..."

"Not even that."

"What?" Remus looked confused.

"You know what I'm talking about," Harry's green eyes met Remus' watery blue ones with a very level, meaningful look.

"Harry..."

"You can't use your condition to push her away, Remus. Not now. You've gone too far."

"But..."

"She loves you. Don't you see that?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Maybe I just... I just don't understand why."

Harry shrugged. "You're obviously worth it. Tonks isn't an idiot. But..."

Remus looked at him.

"But understand this," Harry slid off the desk and faced him. "She's my friend, and she's shown me something that I didn't think was possible. She's declared, in the most unbelievable way possible, to stand by me, and protect me and mine, no matter what the consequences for her. I'd be remiss if I didn't do the same for her, Remus. No matter what the cost."

And with that, he silently left the Room of Requirement, leaving Remus to think on it.

* * *

_There will be one more chapter this week, then I'm breaking for the weekend. So you know, NEXT weekend is Canada Day here, so I will be taking Friday off. _

_As for my little challenge, I was quite surprised at how few people seemed to know what a Scouser is. Carolyn House came through with it first, but Gerie got it, as well. Esssentially, a Scouser is a person who was born in Liverpool, UK. _

_**Aerri:** SICK OF HP? Heresy! Heresy! You know, you can be hung, drawn and quartered around here for saying that, but I appreciate the sentiment ;- _

_**SabineStrohemMoss:** Heheh, Hermione with secrets. What IS the world coming to?_

_**Kordolin:** Aww... you're so sweet!_

_**CharminglyHolly:** What can I say? I get an idea and the muse keeps me awake writing until silly hours of the morning._

_**Jouve25:** I'm glad you're enjoying it that much! _

_**Shotgunn:** I'm going to have SO many new ideas after the new book. Either that or I'm going to be left totally without inspiration. We'll see. Knowing JKR's writing, I suspect it'll be the former._

_**Manatheron:** Yes, Harry does have some adjusting to do. He just quite realize it yet, poor boy._

_**RyougaZell:** Now, see, I asked that, too! One must imagine for themselves, I suppose, what the magical equivalent of a Phys Ed teacher would be. (And yes, I AM shuddering here...)_

_**Gerie:** Yes, well, we couldn't have him not freak out a student or two, hmm?_

_**BrittSchrick:** They're not training outside, just doing morning runs and such with Ron. That can be easily dismissed as friends taking the opportunity to spend a bit of free time together. Helping Ron with Quidditch, etc., would follow, I think – especially Harry giving the students some pointers with flying. All their auror training is taking place in the RoR._

_**Trixie7: **She's incapable of removing anything. Her vows prevent her from doing it._

_**Weselan:** You're in Oz? For some reason, I had thought you were in the US somewhere. Lucky you – the kids and I will be lining up at the bookstore for the midnight release._

_**Wolf'sScream:** "Scouse" the dish, is a kind of thin beef stew, heavy on the spuds. I don't know about baked, I've only ever known it to be made on the stovetop. It's the official dish of Liverpool, thus the nickname for the inhabitants. Who knows where Ron picked that particular phrase up? Possibly from a muggle student, or more likely a teacher – I know my husband yells it at the kids when we're late getting somewhere!_

_**Heartofgryffindor89:** I've struggled with that one. Many people have commented, so apparently it's not coming across as I mean it to. _

_**JapaneseJew:** The Hermione part will clarify in time, I promise._

_**Froboy:** I know what you mean. I think I'm going to have to buy multiple copies for my kids and I, or I'll never get to read it!_

_**YelloWitchGirl:** Don't you just HATE being on the road? I'm with you in spirit._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Who is it?

The following morning, entering his office before classes, Harry was surprised to find Dumbledore waiting for him.

"Albus?"

"Harry... I need to speak to you."

"What is it?"

"There were more attacks last night. One in Essex, two in Cornwall."

"Muggles?"

"Yes."

"What is going on, Albus? Who are they?"

"I don't know, Harry, but this time... this time, the Death Curse was used."

Harry looked at the headmaster, still and shocked.

"We need to find out," he said, his voice sounding strained and low, even to his own ears.

"Yes."

"Who was left after the final battle?"

"Not many. Most are in Azkaban. I just don't know, Harry. I don't know who it _could_ be, unless it's someone completely new, who has never..."

"But we would _know_."

"Would we? How?"

"Leaders of the Dark don't just step up out of nowhere, Albus!"

"Voldemort did, originally," Albus shrugged, completely unlike himself this morning. Harry had never seen him so... directionless. "We had had peace for so long, Harry. He was totally unexpected."

"But..."

"I knew him, Harry. Tom Riddle. When he was a student here."

"Yes. I know," Harry thought back to the Chamber of Secrets... Tom's diary... Ginny. "So did Hagrid."

"I taught him. A good student... but..."

"But?"

"Harry, if you, twenty years from now, look back on your time at Hogwarts and have to pick a student who might have evolved into someone like Voldemort, who would it be?"

"Malfoy," Harry said without hesitation.

"Exactly. Tom wasn't like that. Tom was... Blaise Zabini."

Harry was surprised. Zabini was one of the few Slytherins that Harry had actually _liked_.

"Precisely, Harry," Dumbledore had been watching his expression carefully. "He was... likable. I admit to having my own suspicions after the Chamber incident when that unfortunate young witch died. But he was a very likable young man, nonetheless."

"So, when we try to think of who it could be, who it is that is beginning this again... my point is, it could be _anyone_, Harry. Anyone."

"But it's not, Dumbledore... it's someone. Someone who has been here before, because they are doing things _exactly_ the way Voldemort began. And I don't think that that is just a coincidence."

* * *

Harry walked down the stone corridor, heading for his private quarters, feeling melancholy. Ginny was finding that seventh year, NEWT year, was going to be her most challenging yet. Harry could have told her that, but knew that he'd been partially in denial. He had hoped that, in addition to being at Hogwarts to learn and teach, it would also afford him the opportunity to spend some time with her that he otherwise would not have had.

Thus, his melancholy mood.

Turning a corner, he felt a chilling dampness run through him, and reacted by shying away.

"Oh, I _am _sorry, Professor Potter..."

Harry looked back to see that he had run into... or rather, _through, _ Nearly Headless Nick. He shivered. The same thing had happened to him several times while a student here, and he hated it. He didn't imagine it was much fun for the ghost in question, either.

"Sorry, Nick. You okay?"

"Yes, yes, of course..."

"I know you hate it when that happens."

"Rather disturbing feeling of warmth, actually, Professor. Do forgive me... I wasn't watching where I was going. The Baron is on the warpath. Peeves has been causing trouble with the house elves again, and I was rather looking to avoid..."

"Would you like to come in?" Harry asked, noting that they were standing directly outside his quarters. "I would offer you a drink, but..."

"Very amusing," Nick countered dryly. "But yes, if you don't mind, I could use the respite from dodging the Baron. Peeves' antics really do put him in a foul mood, and the rest of us try to avoid him when he's like that."

"Come in," Harry motioned to the door, but Nick smiled and drifted through the solid stone wall to the left of the doorway as Harry entered the more conventional way.

"Nice. Very comfortable, I'm sure..." Nick commented as he floated about.

"Where do the... do you have quarters here, Nick?" Harry asked interestedly as he retrieved a bottle of butterbeer from the cupboard and cast a quick chilling charm.

"After a manner," Nick said, turning back from his admiration of the view from the large windows. "We occupy a... well, a room is kept for each of us... not nearly as nice as this, but..."

"But you're... comfortable?"

"After a fashion," Nick nodded, his head toppling precariously, held up, in the end, only by the ruff about his neck.

"Nick?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"Oh, please, don't call me that," Harry smirked. "That really is too odd."

"Well, in front of the students I must. The Baron insists, you see. But perhaps, while in private..."

"Nick, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Harry," Nick settled, strangely, in an armchair across from Harry. Harry shook his head. It was the first time, he thought, he'd ever seen the ghost sit.

"Why do some people stay, and some go?"

"We've had this conversation, Harry," Nick said gently. "At the end of your fifth year... after..."

"Yes," Harry agreed. "And you told me _your _reason. Is that the only reason?"

Nick looked at him, carefully, for a moment. "No. No, it's not."

"Who else?"

"I couldn't say, for sure. We each have different..."

"The Grey Lady?" Harry prompted.

"She left her love behind, as did I."

"And the Bloody Baron?"

"Ah... well..." Nick suddenly looked rather uncomfortable. If it was possible for a ghost to feel uncomfortable.

"I know you don't like to speak of him," Harry said. "I'm just curious."

"Well," Nick began. "I don't mind speaking of him, really. It's just..."

"Are you frightened of him?"

"Dear me, no!" Nick said with a smile which appeared briefly before disappearing entirely. "Not as such, really..."

"Then what is it?"

"The Bloody Baron..."

"Nick," Harry leaned forward. "I... I need to understand."

"I've told you before, those who are frightened of death, stay. I stayed, in part, because my love was here, and I was afraid to go on without her. But..."

"But?"

"This is not something of which we normally speak, Harry."

"Please, Nick," Harry didn't know why he suddenly felt the need to know, it just felt very, very important.

"Oh, very well!" Nick sighed. "You are an incredibly tenacious young wizard, did you know that?"

"Nick?"

"I shall not discuss the business of specific... well, it is up to the Baron to tell you his story. I wouldn't dare. But for those who are left, there are three ways to become... one of us. There are those who are frightened of death or of leaving someone behind, and those who leave behind a wizard's debt, Harry Potter, and those who choose this... form... of immortality. Bloody silly choice, if you ask me, but there you have it."

"Immortality?" Harry gulped.

"Immortality. Damned nuisance, if you want to know the truth of it."

"You mean... at death you can... you can quite literally... choose?"

"Well, not precisely, of course..."

"What?" Harry asked. "Precisely?"

"Well, those with a particularly strong bond... or wish to remain. A particularly powerful wizard certainly could, theoretically, make a conscious decision..."

"_Theoretically?" _Harry looked hard at the ghost.

Nearly Headless Nick looked askance at him for a moment before understanding seemed to light his transparent grey eyes.

"Ah... yes... hmmm. Yes, yes..." he nodded, suddenly realizing who it was he was talking to, and about what. "Yes, I can see how that might... pose a problem, given the situation."

"Nick?" Harry's throat felt tight with what he had just learned. "Nick, does Dumbledore know this?"

* * *

Harry lost no time in finding the Headmaster. He ran all the way to the entrance to the elderly wizard's office, and hoped that the spells were still in place to grant him entry without a password.

They were.

"Albus..." he panted, running up the stairs and into the large, cluttered office.

"Harry?" Dumbledore's eyes met his over his halfmoon spectacles. "Harry... what is it?"

"I know what's been happening. I know who is leading them!"

"Harry?" Dumbledore put down the book he'd been looking in, and indicated a chair. "Sit down... what is going on?"

"I've just been talking to Nearly Headless Nick, Albus," Harry sat. "And he told me a particularly strong wizard can _choose_ to stay, as a form of immortality!"

Albus Dumbledore's eyes widened as he quickly stood and strode over to a shelf of books, extracted one, and quickly flipped through it. Apparently finding the page he was looking for, he read for a moment, then closed the book. His cheeks went white, and he swallowed, closing his eyes for a moment, before turning back to Harry. Harry had seldom seen the old wizard so disturbed.

"Harry..."

"Is it true?" Harry's voice sounded raw, even to his own ears. Dumbledore nodded.

"I... I believe it could be. Yes. I never thought..."

"You didn't think_ what_?"

"I never thought he would _choose_... well, few would... but if that is what we're dealing with..."

"Albus... if that _is_ what we're dealing with... if Voldemort has returned, made the choice to... continue on... as a ghost..."

The blue eyes of the elderly headmaster met the bright green eyes of the young wizard, and they both looked horror-struck for a moment.

"Albus..." Harry gulped. "How the hell do you kill a ghost?"

Dumbledore paced, thinking. "Harry, I believe that we may actually have luck on our side in that."

"That would rather make for a nice change, wouldn't it, Professor?" Harry said shortly.

Dumbledore smiled benignly at the younger wizard. "Albus," he reminded him gently.

"Albus," Harry agreed.

"Leave it with me for a short while," the headmaster turned back to his desk, away from Harry.

"Do we _have_ a short while?" Harry asked, looking at him with doubt in his eyes.

"Regardless of whether we do or not, it is not within my power to tell you now what you need to know."

"What?"

"Harry, confidences have been imparted to me that I cannot breach. You must understand this."

"This is _war_!" Harry spat with disbelief.

"Yes, and should I disregard the gravity of this particular confidence, we may lose all ability to fight this time, Harry. I must proceed with... care."

"Can you do it with care and a _bit of bloody speed_?"

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "I shall certainly do my best, Harry."

* * *

Harry was pacing in his quarters late that night when he heard a weary sigh from the corner of the room. Drawing his wand, he turned.

"You're pacing," a disembodied voice said. Harry let out a breath and dropped his wand.

"You're sneaky. The door hasn't opened since I got in an hour ago. How long have you been watching me?"

"Long enough to know that you're going to wear a trench in that carpet if you don't stop it," Ginny pulled his cloak off her head, revealing messy hair and a concerned look. "What's happened?"

"Not enough," Harry muttered.

"Harry?" Ginny dropped the cloak completely and came to him, slipping into his arms as she did.

"Gin... I... things are going from bad to worse, and Dumbledore isn't communicating very well."

"Hmm," Harry felt her smile against his chest.

"What?"

"I rather wondered where you got that from."

"What?" He pulled back, looking down at her.

"Come on, Harry. For the first five years at Hogwarts you said practically nothing of any real importance to anyone. Especially anyone... well, _important_."

"I..."

"You know it's true. If you talk about Dumbledore playing his cards close to his chest, you have to admit, you do it, as well."

"It's not the same thing."

"Isn't it?"

"I... I don't like to involve people in things that..."

"Yes, I know. Nor does he," Ginny agreed dryly.

Harry was silent, contemplative, for a moment before he responded in a low voice. "He wouldn't tell me who it was who could help us, Gin. Even though he knew."

"_Could_ he tell you?"

"Certainly he _could_. He chose _not to_."

"Did he choose to not tell you, Harry, or was he honor bound to not tell anyone?"

"I..."

"People make many commitments to many different people, Harry."

"But this is war, Ginny!"

"No, not any more. This is merely..."

"It will _become_ another war if we don't do something about it!"

"I am absolutely certain," Ginny said gently, looking up at him. "That Dumbledore knows that, and is doing everything in his power to get the information to you that you need, while safeguarding the situation as best he can."

"I... he did say..."

"I know."

"What?"

"Invisibility cloaks are good for lots of things, Harry."

"Ginny!"

"I was following you to be able to get through your door without letting you know I was here. I was going to... surprise you... later," she blushed. "You just went in the wrong direction."

Harry sighed, shaking his head. "I should be angry."

"Should you?" she asked softly, slowly beginning to unbutton his shirt. "You tell me everything, anyhow."

"I do, but..."

"Do you not trust me, Harry?" she paused, the warmth of her hands coming through the thin fabric against his chest.

"I trust you completely, Ginny. You know that. But I've reason to believe that Dumbledore can see through that cloak. You could have gotten yourself chucked for spying on us."

"Dumbledore won't chuck me," Ginny said confidently, returning to the buttons.

"He would have to if..."

"He won't."

"And just how do you know that?"

Ginny looked at him. "Because, Harry, if he chucked me, then you would be angry with him, not to mention my parents. My Mum is... well, she's pretty scary when she's really worked up, and even Dumbledore doesn't risk that unless he has no choice. But even more importantly, Dumbledore doesn't want _you_ angry with him."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Right now, he still needs me."

Ginny looked at him for a moment, her eyes softening further, looking almost sad as they searched his face. "No, Harry. He's not frightened because of what he needs you to do. He's frightened because he cares about you, and doesn't want to lose _you_."

* * *

"Harry, the act of dispatching a ghost is a dangerous..."

"You're telling me that it's _possible_?" Harry asked the headmaster late the next afternoon. He'd gone to his office to confront him, to find out if he'd had a chance to contact to this person that he had referred to the previous day.

"Oh, very possible, Harry. For what are ghosts but souls who have lost their way?"

Harry looked at the old headmaster, his eyes thoughtful. "If that is the case, then they can be shown the way? But how?"

"It is not exactly _showing _them the way, Harry. When a ghost is... disposed of, they go nowhere; they do not go on to the next path, they simply cease to be. There are few who know how, but..."

"But?" Harry prompted as the Headmaster sat again, tapping his long fingers on the desktop and staring hard out the window.

"But we have access to such a one."

"Who?"

"It will be dangerous, though," Dumbledore continued to speak softly, as though to himself. "I do not know if he will help us. He was rather upset when I spoke to him of this."

"_Who_?"

Dumbledore turned sparkling eyes to the intense young man seated across from him. "In your many conversations with Nick, did it never come up?"

"I... _Nick? _No!"

"Did he never tell you why the Hogwarts ghosts are all so fearful of the Bloody Baron?"

* * *

_And THAT is what I wanted to leave you with for the weekend, my friends. Enjoy!_

_As this chapter is longer than usual, and I want to bail for the weekend, I'm leaving my review responses until next time. Have a great weekend, folks!_

_CQ_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Loss

Harry had had to have faith that Dumbledore would proceed as necessary. It was difficult, however, to resist confronting the Baron himself. Harry knew, should he run into the ghost, it would be that much more difficult to resist addressing the situation directly with him, so he became quite adept at avoiding the halls and public areas of the school. He spent a great deal of his time in his classroom and office, and the remainder he split between his rooms and Ron's.

It was late one Friday evening, and they were playing a game of Wizard's Chess in Ron's lounge. Ginny had a study session with Luna, the two of them hoping to get a head start on their revisions for NEWTs, and Harry had decided that the last thing he needed was to sit brooding, alone, in his own lounge.

It had been three days since his talk with Dumbledore, and he rather had the feeling that, tonight, the temptation may prove to be too much, and he'd go looking for the Bloody Baron. Instead, he knocked on Ron's door shortly after they finished their evening session and challenged his friend to a game.

"So, what's up, Harry?" Ron said as he moved his rook, his eyes never leaving the chessboard.

"Up?"

"Come on, Harry. I've known you nearly eight years, and shared a dorm room with you for seven of those. What's up? Because I know something is."

"It's Dumbledore."

"Again?"

"Still," Harry corrected, reaching out to move his knight. The figure cringed, knowing where Harry was going to move it, and knowing he was about to be sacraficed to save the queen.

"What now?"

"This business with the ghost-hunter."

"He still hasn't told you?"

"He's told me who it is... but..."

"But?" Ron snorted doubtfully.

"If he breaches a confidence, Ron, and that causes us to lose the only chance we have..."

"Yes. Well, I see," Ron nodded. "You have to admit, if that's the case, he _does_ rather have a point."

"Doesn't make it any less frustrating," Harry grumbled, watching as Ron moved his bishop, suddenly putting him into...

"Check," Ron said.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered.

"Your mind really isn't on this," Ron commented, reclining back against the leather upholstery of the sofa he was sitting on. "You need a break, my friend."

"I..."

"Oh, Harry Potter, sir!"

Ron and Harry both turned, startled, their wands out and pointed at the small creature in the corner before they could think.

"Oh," the tiny Hogwarts house elf cringed, but didn't use his own magic against them.

"Sorry," Harry pocketed his wand. "I didn't mean to..."

"That is fine, Harry Potter, sir. Mr Wheezy, sir."

"What is it, then?" Ron asked, pocketing his wand. "Everything okay?"

"The Headmaster is looking for Harry Potter. I will tell him..." with a pop, the tiny elf was gone. Moments later, a knock sounded at the door. Ron was already halfway there.

"Ah, Harry... yes... the house elves found you... I must..." Dumbledore entered the moment Ron opened the door.

"Albus? What is it?" Harry could sense a tension around the old man as he entered, waving the door shut behind him.

"I am sorry to interrupt your recreation," he nodded at the board.

"It's fine. Ron was trouncing me, in any case. Is there a problem?"

"Harry..." Dumbledore glanced at Ron, then back. "Harry, we must speak."

"What is it, Albus?"

"Harry..."

"What?" Harry stiffened further. This was not good. "What now?"

"It's your aunt, Harry," Dumbledore said gently.

"Aunt Petunia?"

"Yes, she..."

"Professor?"

"There was an attack on her home last night."

"She's...?" Harry swallowed. "She's dead?"

"No, but Dudley..."

"Dudley's dead?" Harry felt numb. He hadn't cared for his cousin, but still, to hear of an attack on him, to know...

"No, no, but he... well, it's not good, Harry. During the attack, several... well, I can only call them Death Eaters, as we have no evidence to the contrary yet. Several Death Eaters attempted to harm your aunt. Dudley tried to defend her, and the results were... unexpected, to say the least."

Harry stared hard at the old wizard. Dumbledore shook his head, almost disbelievingly.

"I thought he was a Squib, Harry. I didn't realize..." Dumbledore sighed. "There is much I have missed. Much that is... unconscionable that I should have missed."

"Dudley _did magic_?" Harry didn't have time to deal with Dumbledore's apparent agitation. Dudley Dursley had... _no!_

"His reaction... well... it was rather... extreme. Totally uncontrolled... and, well..."

"Where are they?" Harry strode towards the door.

"Dudley is in St Mungoes... your aunt is with him."

"I have to go."

"Harry, he's not expected to live," Dumbledore's eyes showed his concern. "He's very badly injured. It was a very determined attack. You should prepare yourself."

"Prepare?" Harry snorted. "And just how do you suggest I do that?"

Dumbledore nodded once, sadly, and glanced at Ron. His eyes must have communicated something because Ron, without hesitating, grabbed his cloak and followed them.

"Come," Dumbledore strode down the dimly lit stone hallway. "We will use my floo."

* * *

Hermione and Ron stood in the hall outside the room that Harry had disappeared into. Hermione had tears running down her cheeks, and Ron was trying to comfort her, rather awkwardly.

"When will this be over for him?" she asked, her brown eyes turned up to him. "Why does it always have to be him?"

"I don't know," Ron said softly, staring at the closed door as he rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"I mean, the war is _over_! Or it's _supposed_ to be! Didn't he do enough? Didn't he _give up_ enough? Do they have to continue to..." she sobbed.

Ron was silent. He merely held her as she cried for both of them. He didn't know what else to do.

"Ginny should be here," Hermione whispered some time later. The tears had stopped, but they had made her voice low and gruff. Ron held her closer.

"Ginny needs to concentrate on her revising right now..." he began, sounding frighteningly like his mother.

"Ron!" Hermione looked at him, shocked.

"I promised her, Hermione. I told her I'd take care of him. That I'd be there when she couldn't be. Right now, she can't be."

"He _needs _her, Ron," Hermione stared, her disbelief obvious as she pulled away from him.

"Mione..."

"Imagine if it were you in that room, watching one of the twins die. Would you want to be alone? Or would you want me beside you?"

Ron's eyes darkened. After a moment, he nodded, "Perhaps you're right."

"You know I'm bloody right, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione's eyes snapped at him. "Now, get yourself to the message desk downstairs and _send a bloody message to your sister_!"

* * *

"Where is he?" Hermione heard them before she could see them. Ginny's voice was clear, Ron's mumbled reply unintelligible.

As they rounded the corner at the end of the hall, Hermione stood. The two redheaded Weasleys that approached could not have looked more different. Ginny, hair flying out behind her, looked angry. Her eyes snapped, and her entire physical presence spoke of disgust and concern.

Ron, on the other hand, looked contrite.

"I cannot _believe_, Ron, that you didn't come and get me before leaving Hogwarts! What were you thinking?"

Ron mumbled something more, but Ginny ignored him, striding quickly down the corridor.

"Hermione? Is he in there?"

"Yes, Ginny," Hermione nodded, pulling the other girl close and hugging her before quickly letting her go.

"Thank you for sending for me," Ginny said, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at the closed door. "Is he okay?"

"He hasn't come out since I arrived," Hermione said. "I haven't seen him."

"Hold this, will you?" Ginny handed Hermione her cloak and moved towards the doors before pausing. "You're staying?"

"We'll be right here," Ron confirmed.

Without another backward glance, Ginny entered the room, the door closing almost silently behind her. Hermione and Ron, after trading a relieved glanced, sat down again to wait.

Inside, the room was dimly lit. There were two candles in wall sconces, but the light was being kept low, ostensibly for the comfort of the occupant of the lone bed.

The large body in the bed was prone, eyes closed, hands lying where they'd been placed outside the thin hospital blanket. Beside the bed, two figures sat beside each other in straight-backed chairs.

"Gin..." Harry looked up.

"Hello, love," she moved forward, and into his arms as he stood. "Ron just owled me. I got here as quickly as I could."

"You shouldn't have come..." he said against her hair.

"Harry..!"

"...but I'm glad you did."

"Silly man. Of course I came," she held him tightly for a moment before pulling back. "How is he?"

"Not..." Harry glanced at his aunt, who sat staring at her comatose son. "Not well."

Ginny squeezed his arm, then moved over to the chair he'd abandoned, next to Petunia. Silently, she sat, and placed a hand on Petunia's arm. The older woman glanced over, her eyes took a moment to comprehend that someone new was there.

"Oh... Ginny..."

"Hello," Ginny said softly. "I came as soon as I heard."

"Good," Petunia looked back to Dudley. "Harry needs you."

Ginny nodded, then turned to look at the figure in the bed. Dudley Dursley had never been one of her favorite people, because of the pain he'd caused Harry, but even Ginny felt a moment's regret at the sight of him. It was very obvious that there was little hope. Tears in her eyes, she looked up over her shoulder at Harry.

He shook his head. There was no hope.

Sighing, she took Petunia's hand and waited. It wouldn't be long.

* * *

Dudley Dursley died shortly after two in the morning. Harry, Petunia and Ginny were there. At Petunia's cry of pain, Ron and Hermione had rushed into the room, to find Harry with his arms about the thin woman, and Ginny watching sadly as the Mediwitch pulled the sheet up and over the face of Harry's cousin. Hermione felt tears well in her eyes and instinctively turned into Ron's arms. Ron simply held her.

"Ron?"

Ron looked up at Harry's whisper.

"What do you need?" He asked. Harry looked... almost normal. There was a hardness in his bright green eyes, but otherwise, he looked as he always did. With a start, Ron realized that that, in itself, was disturbing. Why did anyone have to live a life where things like losing family became almost... commonplace? Ron knew that if it had been one of _his_ family lying in that bed, he'd be in tears at the very least.

But then, if it were one of the Weasley family lying in that bed, Harry would very likely be in tears, as well.

"I'm taking my aunt back to the Manor. Can you meet us there?" Harry asked in that same calm voice.

"Of course," he agreed.

"You'll have to floo... I don't know what Dobby's done about the wards, but I asked him to make things a little more secure. You won't be able to get through the wards, otherwise."

"I'll bring the girls and be right behind you, Harry," Ron said softly.

"Bring Hermione," Harry responded, reaching out a hand, which Ginny took without hesitation. Abruptly, the three of them, Petunia support by Harry's left arm and Ginny holding his right hand, disappeared.

"Bloody hell, how does he do that?" Ron muttered.

Exiting the room, they nearly ran into Dumbledore.

"Ron?" the older wizard looked closely at him before glancing at the closed door behind them. He looked as though he'd just arrived. Remus Lupin was with him, looking rather rumpled, as though he'd been recently summoned from his bed.

"He's gone," Ron said, feeling Hermione shudder against his side. He pulled her tighter against him with his left arm, while fiddling with his wand in his right.

"Gone?" the old wizard paled.

"Dudley. He's gone."

"Harry?" Remus asked, concern darkening his normally pale eyes.

"He's taken his aunt and Ginny back to the Manor... we're on our way there now."

"He..."

"He apparated with the two of them, Albus," Ron said, looking meaningfully at the headmaster when his eyes brightened with surprise at hearing that Harry had apparated himself and two other adults through the wards at Potter Manor. "He asked that we follow by floo, and that is what Hermione and I are going to do. Right now."

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded, stepping aside for them to pass. "Of course. Go. I will... tend to things here."

"He's going to want..." Ron's eyes glanced back at the door. "I think he's probably going to want Dudley taken back to the Manor... to be... you know..."

"I will make the necessary arrangements here," Dumbledore agreed. "Tell Harry..."

"Professor?" Ron looked at him expectantly when the old wizard paused, staring off blankly.

"Tell Harry I will be there as soon as I can be," Dumbledore said quietly after a moment. "There are things that I must do."

Ron stiffened and took a breath. Harry needed his friends _now_. But Dumbledore had... Dumbledore was still the head of the Order, and things would have to be done... the Ministry...

"I'll tell him," Ron agreed.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione spoke, her eyes glinting.

"Miss Granger?"

"Don't be long."

Dumbledore's eyes met the young witch's and, after a moment, he nodded. "I will be there as quickly as possible, Miss Granger."

* * *

Upon arrival in the main hall at the Manor, Harry looked down at the woman in his arms, then up again into the sad, brown eyes of Ginny Weasley.

"Ginny, can you...?"

"Can you carry her, Harry?"

"Yes."

"Bring her up. I'll go on ahead and turn down the bed in the blue room."

With this, she dashed off, leaving Harry to lift his aunt into his arms and follow. As he entered through the door of the room his aunt had used during her stay at Potter Manor, he saw Ginny efficiently dealing with the bed, and turning down the light with a flick of her wand.

"Bring her here, Harry."

"I think she's passed out," he said worriedly.

"I think she's fallen asleep," Ginny whispered. "She's emotionally exhausted. Shock can sometimes do that."

"But..."

"Get Mum. I'll transfigure something for her to wear for tonight and get her changed. Go."

Harry left, pulling the door closed behind him, and turned towards the room the elder Weasleys occupied. He was halfway down the hallway when a door opened to his right. Before he realized what was happening, he had his wand out and pointed at the head of Bill Weasley.

"Whoa, Harry," Bill held up his hand. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my house, Bill," Harry said dryly as he holstered his wand.

"I know, but..."

"There's been another attack."

"What?" Bill was immediately fully awake and attentive.

"My aunt's home."

"Is everyone okay?"

"No," Harry took a breath. "I was just going to get your Mum. I've brought my aunt back here."

"I'll get her," Bill stepped out into the hall and turned right, heading towards his parents room. "Blue room?"

"Yes," Harry nodded, then turned back towards the room where Ginny was caring for his aunt.

Knocking lightly, he waited for Ginny's call before entering. He found her sitting on the side of the bed, holding his aunt's hand. Petunia slept.

"She's worn out, Harry," Ginny whispered. "Did you get Mum?"

"I ran into Bill. He's getting her," Harry nodded, standing next to the bed, uncomfortably trying to find somewhere to put his hands. Eventually, he simply stuck them in his pockets.

He wished Dumbledore was here. He needed to talk to him about the attack. He needed to yell at someone.

"Are you okay?" Ginny's soft voice reached him. He took a breath and looked down at her.

"I'll be fine."

"You're always fine, Harry. But are you okay?"

"I will be," he smiled. "Thanks."

Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't have time to say anything more as the door opened and Molly bustled in.

"Oh, Harry... Ginny, dear! What's happened?"

"My aunt's home was attacked, Mrs Weasley," Harry said softly. "We've been at St Mungoes..."

"And they didn't keep her?"

"We weren't there for her, Mum," Ginny cast a meaningful look at Molly.

"Oh..." Molly looked up, then at Harry. "Oh, dear... oh, Harry... your cousin...?"

"He's dead," Harry said before turning away. "I'm sorry, I... can you see to her? I'm expecting Dumbledore, and Ron and Hermione should be here by now. I..."

"I'll see to her, Harry," Molly said softly. "But you..."

Harry silently left the room.

"Ginny?" Molly turned worried eyes to her only daughter.

"He'll be fine, Mum," Ginny said. "He just needs time to... to assimilate it all. He didn't like his cousin much, but..."

"But it's difficult, I know. Perhaps he could use a cup of tea, love?"

Ginny looked up at her mother, who looked at the door encouragingly.

"You'll be alright here?"

"I'll see to her," Molly agreed.

"Harry thought she'd passed out, but I think it's just... shock. I think she's just fallen asleep."

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll see to her, Ginny. You go. He needs you."

"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said as she stood and left, quickly heading to the kitchen to make tea. She was certain where she'd find him, and she was pretty sure he wouldn't be alone.

* * *

_I do so enjoy reading your comments! You didn't expect me to just... explain? Did you? Really? LOL! Keep reading!_

_CQ_

_**RyougaZell:** Not being an expert on genetics or lycanthropy, I can only repeat what my muse is telling me – that it's not hereditary... but I could be wrong. For the purposes of my story, I'm saying no. Remus is simply afraid of hurting a child, as he was hurt, and perhaps a bit leary of being hurt himself. He comes across as a man who cannot understand what a woman might see in him, doesn't he?_

_**LadyIlana:** I would imagine it would depend on Tonks' own feelings on the matter, but I'm rather thinking that direction is direction, and perhaps even Tonks wasn't fully aware of the nature of her vows._

_**JapaneseJew:** The reason this sort of vow hasn't been outlawed by the Ministry (simply frowned upon), is that it is by personal choice. The vows that Tonks took certainly wouldn't affect her children's ability to choose. Oh, and ghosts can ABSOLUTELY interact!_

_**Kazziedal:** Oh, no! Temperatures are never fun, especially when they're little. My son had a temp of 104 once and scared about five years off my life. Hope the girls are better!_

_**WolfsScream:** Hmm... yes... I do have my rather pitiful attempts at dry wit..._

_**CharminglyHolly:** Miss Pickles? LOL! Yes, very strong bonds can give someone the ability to choose. But what would they choose?_

_**LarnaMandrea:** Horses? Cable boxes? Sounds... painful. For the horse. Do tell. And you're not allowed to hate Harry, at least not here. I've killed him off once for you, already, you bloodthirsty woman you!_

_**LittleTom45: **That is so nice of you to say! You should write something. Good readers make good writers. Let me know when you write something, I promise to review!_

_**Trixie7:** You're going to have to wait for the answers to your questions, sorry!_

_**Bouncerok:** Thanks! I may consider some one shots based on this story... but only after HBP!_

_**Weselan:** I'll maybe do a one shot about the background on the Bloody Baron after... or maybe I won't have to once the story is told!_

_**Thank you, also, to: **BrittSchrick, StEmo, Shotgunn, JainaSanri, Gerie, SugarBear, NightGames, Manatheron, HeartofGryffindor89, harryginnyluv4ever, Imgonnadie, AlliBaby, FroBoy, Kordolin, SabineStrohemMoss, SilverWarrior, YelloWitchGrl, OldCrow, Starnat_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Revelations

She was right. By the time she'd made up the tea tray and brought it through to the study, Ron, Hermione and Bill were all seated in the room as Harry paced in front of the portrait of his parents – Ron and Hermione on the wide couch, and Bill at the window-seat.

"I've brought tea, Harry," Ginny said softly. He stilled abruptly, looking at her as though he didn't recognize her for a moment, before sighing and taking her into his arms. Ginny held him tightly as he buried his face in her hair.

"Harry, do we have any information at all...?"

"Dumbledore should be here shortly, Bill," Ron said before Harry could respond. "We'll know more then."

"But..."

"Not now, Bill," Ginny said softly. "Wait for Dumbledore."

Arthur entered the room a moment later, looking around as though surprised to see everyone there before catching sight of Harry and Ginny locked together under the portrait of Harry's parents. James and Lily were silent for the moment, watching the couple in front of them closely.

"Harry?"

"Mr Weasley, my aunt...?"

"Is fine. She's sleeping. Molly is sitting with her, and I've brought the Grangers over..."

"My parents?" Hermione looked at him oddly.

"Dumbledore flooed and said that it might be safer..."

Hermione blanched.

"Your father has begun preparations for breakfast," Arthur smiled and the young witch that was like the second daughter that Molly had so wanted. "And your mother is helping Molly."

"Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"Should be arriving any..."

At that moment, the study door opened once more, and both Dumbledore and Remus stepped through.

"Harry..." Dumbledore strode towards him. "Your aunt?"

"Sleeping," Harry said.

"Good, good. Do you wish me to bring Poppy?"

"Mrs Weasley is seeing to her. I'm sure she'll be..." Harry swallowed. How was she ever going to be 'fine' again? She'd just lost her son. "Perhaps you should talk to Mrs Weasley. I don't know what she needs."

"Mum'll tell you, Harry, should she need anything," Ginny said from where her face was now resting against his chest.

"I need to speak with..." Dumbledore glanced around the room at the others.

"With all of us, Albus," Harry said firmly. "There are still no secrets here."

Albus nodded once again. "Harry, the attack on your aunt was not the only one tonight."

Harry stiffened. "Who else?"

"Seamus Finnegan's family was..."

"He's okay?" Harry's peircing eyes flew from Dumbledore to Ron and back again.

"Seamus was not at home. He had stayed the night in Hogsmeade. His family survived. Mrs Finnegan is a very capable witch who held her own quite nicely before the aurors arrived. Their home was destroyed, but..."

"But?"

"But the family of the late Miss Bones was not so fortunate. As well, Dennis Creevey's mother is in St Mungoes, and..."

"And?"

"And Neville Longbottom's grandmother is now dead. We're not at all sure how that happened, really..."

"Damn it!" Harry cursed.

"The twins..." Albus began again.

All attention in the room was immediately on Dumbledore's next words.

"Albus?" Arthur paled. "The twins?"

"The twins shop was attacked, but their rather... efficient... security measures saved their lives. They were able to apparate out. They are on their way here, but I asked them to stop by Miss Parkinson's flat on the way and bring her, as well, as I believe that this is..."

"A focused attack on those who were involved," Harry said flatly.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "Mr Finnegan is also on his way. I asked him to go by the castle and bring Mr Longbottom and Miss Lovegood with him. Miss Lovegood's father has been apprised of the situation and has chosen to move to a safe location of his own selection."

At that moment, the floo fire in the lounge sounded, and Harry took a deep breath.

"Albus," Arthur looked at the older wizard, reassured for the moment that his family was safe. "You said the Bones' family... Amelia?"

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I know she was a friend."

"I..." Arthur turned to look blankly at the wall. Harry felt his heart wrench. He knew all too well what it felt like to lose a friend, a peer.

"Arthur, you do realize what this means?" Albus spoke in a low voice.

"Means?" Arthur Weasley looked up at the Head of Hogwarts, Head of the Order... Head of the Wizengamut. "Albus?"

"You are the next most senior official, Arthur."

"But..."

And with that, Harry realized what Dumbledore was saying. With Minister Bones dead, Arthur Weasley was the next, if interim, Minister of Magic.

* * *

Ginny Weasley slept in Harry's arms that night, and no one, not even her mother, made much of a fuss about it.

It might have had something to do with the fact that no one got to bed before six. Or it might have had to do with the fact that, with so many others flooing in to Potter Manor, bedspace was limited. As it was, Hermione shared with Luna and Pansy and Ron transfigured several cots in his room to be occupied by Seamus, Neville and the twins. The houseelves had furnished extra rooms on the third floor for Percy and Penelope, the Grangers and Remus and Tonks. Charlie and Bill bunked in together, and somehow, no one thought to ask where Ginny would sleep.

Which was about the last thing on Ginny's mind as she made her way, exhausted, to Harry's room just before six that morning. As she was moving through the hallway, her mother exited the room opposite, a pile of towels in her arms, and stopped, looking at her oddly.

"Ginny... oh, Ginny, I forgot! I'll have to transfigure another bed..."

"I'm staying with Harry, Mum," Ginny said. She had no energy for another fight, and hoped her mother didn't, either.

"But..."

"Mum, he won't sleep unless I'm there to make sure he does. He'll just pace. And he needs some rest."

Molly looked at her for a moment, then nodded her head. "Alright, Ginny. Go on, then."

"Mum?" Ginny looked over her shoulder as she opened the door to his room, too tired to truly be surprised, but curious about her mother's change of attitude nonetheless.

"Go on, Ginny. He won't sleep unless you make him. We can talk in the morning."

Ginny sighed, and smiled gently at her mother, then entered the room to find Harry pacing at the foot of his bed.

"Come on," she said, closing the door behind her, and moving towards him, taking the tail of his tshirt and lifting it. Automatically, Harry lifted his arms so she could remove it.

"Gin..."

"Harry, you need to rest. Come on, let's go to bed."

"Ginny, your mum..."

"I met her in the hall. She knows where I am. Now get your trousers off and into that bed, before I do it for you."

"Your mum...?" Harry looked at her with shocked eyes.

"To sleep, Harry. Now."

Finally realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere arguing with her, he shucked his jeans and climbed in under the duvet in his boxers. Ginny stripped down, pulled on the tshirt he'd just taken off, and climbed in beside him.

"Gin...?"

"Sleep, Harry. Everything will be much more bearable after you've had some rest."

"Can I hold you?"

She shifted around, pulling him into her arms. "How about I hold you?"

Harry rested his head against her breast and sighed. The tension that had been grating at him since Dumbledore had entered Ron's quarters the night before seemed very far away right now. Ginny was holding him.

"Gin?"

"What is it, Harry?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Thank you for coming, when I needed you."

Ginny smiled against his dark hair and kissed his head gently. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Ginny."

And in moments, they slept.

* * *

Hermione looked down at them, her eyes soft and filled with tears. She had suspected that when Molly had quietly asked her to go and wake Harry and Ginny that Molly had done so to avoid any embarrassment of finding them in bed together. Now... well, she was just glad that Molly had sent her.

She watched as Ginny's chest rose and fell with the deep breath of sleep. Her mouth was slightly parted, and her red hair tumbled over the blindingly white pillows of Harry's bed.

And over Harry.

He slept soundly, his head cushioned against the lone Weasley daughter. Hermione had seldom seen such a look of contentment on his face. The lines that were normally there... lines of worry and tension, were gone. Hermione realized that Harry had carried them for a long time. A very long time. And strangely, they hadn't gone away after the final battle... after his defeat of Voldemort.

She wondered if, so long as Harry was awake, they ever would completely disappear. And she knew... she knew that there was something that she had to do.

But for now, lunch was ready, and Molly didn't think that Harry and Ginny should miss two meals. Several others had straggled down throughout the morning, but Harry and Ginny slept on.

"Harry..." she leaned over, touching his bare shoulder gently. He was built so differently than Ron. While Ron was tall and thin, he was also muscular. His shoulders were wide, and the muscles rippled when she ran her hands over them...

Harry's muscles were obvious, but different. He was obviously strong, but there was a lean wiriness there, like a tightly coiled spring. Hermione wondered how much of it was Quidditch, how much was his training, and how much was just Harry.

He jumped under her light touch, and Hermione suddenly found herself facing the business end of his wand.

"Harry?"

"Oh... Mione..." he relaxed, his arm around Ginny keeping him from sitting up. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Nothing, Harry... Molly sent me to wake you two. It's after noon, and she was worried that you hadn't eaten."

"Oh..."

"Hermione?" Ginny yawned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ginny," Hermione repeated. "Your mum sent me to wake you. Lunch is ready."

"Oh..." Ginny stretched and Hermione noticed she wore the green tshirt that Harry had been wearing the night before.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Mrs Weasley had sent her up rather than come herself.

"I'll... Dumbledore is here. Downstairs. And the others. Harry..."

"I'll just get dressed and be down," Harry threw his legs over the side of the bed, and Hermione flushed, turning quickly towards the door.

"I think..." she took a breath, knowing what had to happen next. "I think plans are going to change, Harry."

"How so?" she could hear the sudden tension in his voice.

"You need to come downstairs," she said, not meeting his eyes. "We're in the kitchen."

Harry watched as the door closed behind her, wondering what she'd meant. Hermione was never like this. Something had, indeed, changed, or was about to.

* * *

_Well, I leave you here, without my normal review responses, because I have fifteen people headed to my house right now, and the breakfast dishes are still on the countertop._

_I thank you all for your reviews, I really do – you all make me better at this when you tell me what you think._

_CQ_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Hermione's Secrets

"I don't know if that is such a good idea, Arthur."

"I need to go into the Ministry, Albus," Arthur said. "It's imperative that someone be there to direct..."

"Arthur, it may not be safe," Dumbledore said gently. "We cannot risk..."

"If Mr Weasley feels that his place is at the Ministry this morning," Harry spoke from the doorway. "Then he needs to go."

Dumbledore turned to see Harry standing there, Ginny behind him, her shoulders set.

"Good morning, Harry. I was just saying..."

"I heard, Albus," Harry nodded. "And I understand why you feel that way. But if Mr Weasley is now the interim Minister of Magic, then you need to respect that, and let him do his job."

After a moment, Dumbledore nodded, then turned to Arthur.

"Arthur..."

"Thank you for your concern, Albus, but I know where I'm needed. Harry," he nodded as he strode out past the young couple who moved further into the room. Harry took a cup of tea from the tray that Molly had just brought in moments before and handed a second one to Ginny. They hadn't had time for breakfast, or lunch, yet.

"I'm sorry it took us so long to come down," Harry said to the group assembled in the family lounge off the dining room. "I wanted to check in on my aunt."

"How is Petunia this morning, Harry?" Albus asked.

"As well as can be expected, thank you," Harry replied. "She's awake, but not up to visitors, I believe. Mrs Granger is sitting with her now."

"And you, Harry?" Albus asked, his old eyes taking in the paleness of Harry's face, the darkness in his eyes.

"I'm ready to take care of this problem, once and for all, Albus."

"Unfortunately," Dumbledore looked at him. "I'm not sure how we're going to do that."

"I think it's clear," Harry said firmly. "We find them, and then we use whatever we need to... whatever we _can_... to destroy them once and for all. Have you spoken to your... friend?"

"Yes," Albus nodded, a shadow in his eyes. "He is... hesitant."

"_Hesitant?_"

"Harry, you have to understand..."

"What I _understand_ is that people are dying, and something must be done," Harry said in a clipped voice.

"I've learned something," Hermione interrupted, hesitantly. "But..."

Harry carefully set his mug of tea down on the coffee table, abandoning the swiftly cooling sludge at the bottom of his cup.

"But?" Harry looked at her closely. Hermione was acting very oddly this morning.

"Harry, I wouldn't..." Hermione seemed to struggle against something. Harry straightened. He'd never seen her like this before.

"You're an Unspeakable, aren't you?" Tonks asked from the corner where she sat on the arm of the chair that Remus was currently occupying.

"I..." Hermione swallowed, obviously wanting to answer, but torn.

"I know you're not allowed to speak of it," Tonks said, watching Hermione closely. "But..."

"It's more than not being _allowed_ to," Hermione said, tears gathering in her eyes. "I..."

"You cannot," Dumbledore said softly. All eyes turned to him.

"I... yes," Hermione said on a gasp. The effort of speaking was obviously distressing her. Harry sat forward, concerned about her. She seemed to be... in pain?

"Hermione?" He looked at her, his worry increasing..

"It causes Miss Granger physical pain to speak of anything that might dishonor the vows she has taken to become an Unspeakable," Dumbledore explained, his eyes never leaving the clearly upset witch seated next to Ron.

"You mean..." Ron turned horrified eyes to his girlfriend. His eyes hardened and he spoke firmly. "Right. I want you out of there. Now."

"Ron..." Hermione turned begging eyes up to him.

"What kind of place puts restraints on it's employees like this?" Ron turned to Dumbledore. "What kind of... _Look at her!_"

"Miss Granger entered into a contract. A legal contract. It is, actually, quite similar to the contract she drew up for the members of the DA club during your time at Hogwarts, although the restrictions are rather more... limiting, and the consequences more painful, I'm sure. I am assuming she knew the ramifications of such an agreement," Dumbledore's eyes still did not stray from her.

"I didn't think..." Hermione's eyes were welling again. "I thought..."

"You thought what?" Ron rounded on her. "That it would be worth it? Hermione, you might know stuff, but what good does it do if you can't tell us? Doesn't that just make it worse? It will be torment for you if you... if you know something... something important... and can't manage to tell anyone!"

"I thought..." Hermione turned to Harry, her eyes full of tears, pleading. "I thought if I could find someone who... if I didn't have a _choice_ to tell things... if they were _taken_ from my mind..."

Harry looked at her, horrified, knowing full well what she meant. "No."

"Harry, you _have_ to!" she cried. "Please!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Harry!"

"Hermione, do you have any idea... any _idea at all_," Harry hissed. "Of what it is like to have someone _forcibly_ use legilimency on you while you resist? Do you have any idea? It's like being mentally _violated_. I can't do that to you!"

"Harry, it's the only way that I can get this information to you. You have to!"

"I can't!"

Looking at him for a moment, Hermione sobbed with frustration and then turned to Dumbledore. "You're a skilled Legilimens, Professor. If Harry won't, then you will have to."

Dumbledore looked at Harry. "The violation would be... Miss Granger, you must understand, these are not insignificant wards that have been put on you; on your mind. The act of overcoming them... the violation would be extreme."

"_You have to!"_ Hermione screamed at them, tears streaming down her face. "I can't... don't you understand. I've tried... staring into a mirror... I've tried to speak of these things. They're locked in my mind!"

Harry looked at her, his own eyes burning with the need to shed tears. Hermione... he'd never seen her so desperate.

"You need to, Harry. Please!" she turned back to him, as though she had sensed his thoughts.

Harry swallowed. "I don't know if I can, Hermione. I really don't..."

"Harry!"

"You have to _want_ to be in the other person's mind, Hermione! You have to be..."

"I _don't care!_" she sobbed. "Please, Harry... you've no idea! You've no idea of what it's like, _knowing_, but unable to tell anyone, unable to _speak_! Unable to protect those... just a few words, Harry, but I _can't do it_! Don't you understand? Just... just a single memory... just..."

Harry glanced at Ron, whose eyes were desperate. He hated seeing Hermione like this.

"Please, Harry. I don't know how much more she can..."

"You don't know, Ron! You don't know what..." Harry's voice was low, angry. They couldn't ask him to do this. Not _this_. Not to Hermione! None of them had any idea of what it would take, how it would hurt her.

"I trust you, Harry," Hermione drew his attention back to her with her soft voice. "I trust you to do this. If you have to hurt me to do it... it won't be so bad if it's you. Please, I trust you."

Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who looked back at him steadily. "Hermione wishes you to do this, Harry, knowing full well it will be a most unpleasant experience. I must conclude that she feels this information is... desperately important."

Sighing, Harry moved to the ottoman in front of the sofa and looked into Hermione's eyes.

"You're sure?"

"Yes," she nodded, her eyes still full of tears, but almost eager now. Harry knew that that would change... he knew that she couldn't have any idea of what was about to happen. "You have to, Harry. I can't say it, and you have to know. It is _imperative_ that you know!"

A moment later, Harry stared directly into her eyes, concentrated, and then found himself in the mind of Hermione Granger. It was the strangest experience he'd ever had with this skill, bar none. As opposed to the darkness of Snape's memories, and the extremes of emotion he'd encountered in Dumbledore's head, Hermione's mind was as neat and orderly as she was, but there was a core... he could sense a deep, churning core, a place where her emotions were highly strung, passionate. Where Hermione kept her deepest thoughts and desires, only allowing them out when she knew that it was entirely safe.

And that was where he had to go. Harry knew it even as he recognized the swirling mass of emotion and memory for what it was. With a deep breath, he dove further into her mind, feeling her tense as he did, feeling the vibration of a scream, a deep, racking sob and tension... so very much tightly held control. Harry looked here for only a moment before finding what he had gone in after. The moment he saw the memory, he knew it was the one she meant. He gasped, and was vaguely aware on some level of Hermione doing the same.

"Mione?" Ron's voice came from a long way away. Harry could hear another scream as he approached the memory, and he could feel the pain around him, the tightening of her hold, the physical pain she felt as her mind struggled against his. Hermione was suffering, deeply.

Quickly, he took the memory as his own, and exited her mind. She slumped against Ron, her face buried against him, and sobbed.

"Harry?" Ron turned shocked eyes to him as he rocked her. "What...?"

"I'm sorry, Ron. I tried to be gentle, but there were... the memory was well protected."

"But... she'll be okay?" Ron asked.

"She will be fine," Dumbledore spoke quietly. "It is not a pleasant thing, to have your mind violated, Ron. And that is what Hermione has undergone. Willingly or not, her mind will remember the intrusion. It will take her some time to heal from the experience, but she will heal."

Ron glanced down at her, his eyes wide, but he nodded, and turned back to Harry, his arms still holding her close.

"The memory? What is it, Harry? What was she so desperate for you to know?"

Harry turned to Dumbledore, the look on his face clearly frightened.

"Albus..."

"Harry?"

"Something has come through the Veil. And the Ministry knows."

Dumbledore stared at him, speechless, yet obviously progressing toward a towering anger. Harry swallowed.

"There's more."

"More?" Dumbledore's voice sounded hoarse.

"Several departments of the Ministry... not all of them, but several... have..."

"What, Harry?"

"Have been in touch with... well, with some form of Voldemort. They have agreed to... assist him... or be assisted..."

"With what?" Harry had never seen Dumbledore look shocked. He witnessed it now.

"With the destruction of all those who fought against the Dark who were not with the Ministry during the war. Namely, you, the Order, the DA, and the Dirty Dozen. They've... aligned themselves with him, Dumbledore, to dispose of you, of me, and of anyone loyal to us. They're hunting us down, and they intend to regain the power they believe they've lost."

"The fools," Dumbledore hissed. "The desperate, blind fools."

* * *

"Ginny, I know." 

"Mum, Harry and I..."

"Harry told me," Molly looked across the table at her daughter, both of them cradling mugs of tea in their hands.

"He... told you?"

"That he's proposed, Ginny. That you've accepted him," Molly smiled.

"Oh," Ginny almost sighed with relief. She was absolutely certain that the conversation wouldn't be quite so civil if Harry had confessed to her mother what she'd _thought_ her mother had been telling her he'd confessed to.

"Ginny?" Molly looked at her, rather concerned at her response. "You did accept him?"

"Of course I did, Mum," Ginny laughed without humor. "Would you have expected me to knock him back?"

"Well, you don't seem particularly happy about it," Molly stated.

"It's not that I'm not happy, Mum," Ginny denied, pushing the cold tea away from her. "It's that there has hardly been time to think about it."

"Oh, I know, dear," Molly instantly leaned forward. "But the time will come..."

"I know, Mum."

"Last night..." Molly flushed. "I thought... I rather thought he was too tired..."

"Mum, nothing happened last night," Ginny reassured her mother. "I told you, he needed to sleep, and he wouldn't unless I was there to make sure he laid down."

Molly sighed, almost with relief. "You'll be married in the summer?"

"I..." Ginny glanced away. "We haven't set a date, Mum. Harry hasn't..."

"Oh, love!" Molly laughed. "Harry won't!"

"What?"

"Men think that all they need do is the asking, Ginevra. It won't cross Harry's mind to even suggest a date until you do, love."

"But..."

"Think on it, Ginny," Molly stood. "Harry loves you, but you'll need to guide him on this."

"Yes, Mum," Ginny said distractedly. It wasn't bad enough that her mother appeared to have done a complete about-face on the whole propriety issue, she had to start giving her advice on men, now, as well?

* * *

"Harry... a moment?" 

Harry turned to see Remus approaching him through the public lounge. He stood at the base of the main staircase. He'd been intending to go up and check on his aunt.

"What is it, Remus?"

"Harry, I think you need to speak to your mother's portrait."

"Why?"

"Your mother was..."

"What, Remus?"

"Harry, you know your father took Auror training, but..." Remus paused again.

Harry looked expectantly at him, beginning to feel slightly annoyed. "Remus?"

"Your mother, Harry... Lily worked for the Department of Mysteries. She was an Unspeakable. Perhaps..."

"Remus, it's too late. Hermione has already gone through..."

"No, I don't mean that," Remus said. "But... But I think Lily might know something about the Veil. I believe she may have worked with it... before."

Harry looked suspiciously at him.

"If she was an Unspeakable, how would you know?"

"I..."

"Remus?"

Remus sighed. "I _am_ one of the original Marauders, Harry, if not the most talented or... inspired... of the group. I was around for many of Sirius and James'... exploits."

"You spied on her?" Harry was dumbfounded.

"I wouldn't say 'spied'," Remus flushed.

"What _would_ you say, Remus?"

"Your father called it... well, we thought we were protecting her at the time. Little did we know..."

"What?"

"Of the four of us, she was probably the one that required the least protection, Harry. Your mother was a very capable and talented witch."

"If she ever found out..."

"Oh, she found out, Harry," Remus said ruefully. "Lily _always_ found out. When she found out about this, she proceeded to turn your father into a giant slug and to divest Sirius of his... most precious possession. It took a bloody age for him to stop whinging about that, actually. Until it grew back, I believe..."

"And you?" Harry was surprised it was so difficult to hold back his mirth, given the gravity of the current situation.

"Me?"

"What did she do to you?"

"Um..." Remus colored further.

"You might as well tell me, because I'll only just go to my dad's painting and ask him."

"No," Remus looked panicked for a moment. "At least not while your mother is there. You really do _not_ want to remind her of that, Harry. Trust me."

"Fine. Talk."

"She... she placed a permanent itching hex on all of my clothing. _All_ of my clothing, Harry."

Harry smiled.

"It's not funny," Remus grumbled. "I had even less money then than I have now. I couldn't afford to buy a new pair of underwear, much less a complete wardrobe. I had to live with it for a bloody month until Sirius found a counter-charm."

Harry snickered. "Didn't cross her again, though, did you?"

"I didn't dare," Remus snorted. "It took Sirius and your father rather longer to learn that lesson, Harry. The one lesson you have yet to learn, as well. Remember, Harry, a crossed witch is a terrible thing, but a crossed _talented_ witch..."

Remus shuddered again. Harry couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

* * *

Hours later, Harry entered the study, closing the door behind him and setting locking and privacy charms on the room. He moved to the sofa in front of the portrait and looked up. His mother looked down on him, a smile on her face. His dad grinned. 

"Harry..."

"I need to speak to you. Specifically, you, Mum."

"Harry? What is it?" Sudden concern darkened her eyes.

"Mum, Remus told me something tonight."

"What?"

"He said... he said you might be able to tell me something about the Veil in the Department of Mysteries."

Lily looked at him, her surprise evident. "Why would you want to know about that, Harry?"

"Because I think it might have something to do with Voldemort being back. I think he might be using it somehow. I think he might have returned through it."

"That's impossible, Harry," Lily said with a relieved sigh. "It is impossible for anything to come through from the other side."

"How do you know?"

"Because it's been tested."

Harry tried not to speculate on that for too long. He didn't think he really wanted to know what the tests involved. Or who.

"But maybe it's not that it's impossible, but... those on the other side don't choose to come through. Perhaps things are so good on the others side..."

"Harry," Lily sighed. "They couldn't come through if they wanted to."

"But if you're gone, if your soul is free... if you're with others who have gone before... if..."

"Harry, the Veil that Sirius fell through isn't like that."

"Then what is it?"

"It's a portal," Lily glanced at James, then turned pained eyes back to her son. "A one-way portal, Harry. It's a way _there_... not a way _back_."

"Where did it take Sirius?"

"The Veil is a portal to the world of the dead, Harry, but you can't come back through it."

"How do you _know_?"

"Because I worked there, Harry. Because I was an Unspeakable. Because knowledge was shared with me."

"Mum, something came through it."

"Harry, nothing could have come through that portal."

"But..."

"Harry it's just not possible."

"It must be. Because we know that something has come through..."

Lily gasped. "No, it's not possible."

"Mum, Hermione is an Unspeakable... she... I... well, suffice to say that something has come through from the other side. The Ministry has knowledge of it, and..."

"Harry," Lily glanced at James, before continuing worriedly. "The Veil that Sirius fell through in the Department of Mysteries is not the only one."

"What?"

"There are several others."

"I don't understand."

"There are several of them, Harry, under separate study in the Department of Mysteries. Some are portals _in_, others are portals _out_. The one that Sirius fell through... it only goes _in, _or he wouldn't have gone in at all. They only work one way. There are others that are exits, but they have to be activated. The Ministry keeps them inactive... they _know_ what they'd be opening if they allowed the portals to be activated, Harry. The Ministry wouldn't..."

"Lils?" James' voice came softly, doubtfully.

"They couldn't have, could they, James?" Lily looked up at James, worry apparent in her eyes. "They wouldn't have been that stupid? Would they?"

"Lils..." James shook his head. "You know as well as I do how stupid the Ministry can act someti..."

At that moment, something very, very strange happened. The painting of his parents froze. Harry looked at it closely.

"Mum? Dad?"

The painting remained frozen. Harry moved closer.

"Mum? Mum? What's wrong?"

Still no response. Harry, suddenly realizing that something was terribly wrong, removed the wards on the room and threw open the door, yelling for Dumbledore as he did.

* * *

"I don't understand it," Harry stared at the portrait of his parents. They were not asleep, they were merely... still. They'd been that way for hours, since close to three when they had frozen during their conversation with him. 

Harry couldn't understand it.

"Harry..."

"What could have done this? Why are they not speaking to me? What's wrong?"

"Harry," Dumbledore sighed, glancing at the portrait, then back to Harry. "One of two things may have happened."

"Two things? Care to share?"

Dumbledore nodded sadly at the tone Harry used. Harry felt contrite for a moment, but then his anger took over once again.

"Harry, there are two reasons why this may have happened. One is that the spell... well,. Perhaps the spell simply wore off."

"_Wore off_?" Harry hissed. "Wore bloody _off_? Are you telling me that my mother was substandard with potions?"

"No, of course not."

"So how likely is it that the spell could have _worn off_? I've seen the portraits in Hogwarts, Albus. I'm absolutely certain it doesn't just _wear off_!"

Harry knew how unreasonable he was being, how disrespectful, but somehow... somehow he couldn't find it in himself to stop. He'd been given his parents... in a way, anyhow. And now they'd been cruelly snatched away again. He knew he'd feel shame in how he was treating Dumbledore later, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to care enough to stop.

"No, you are correct," Dumbledore nodded. "I have certainly never known it to happen. I am merely suggesting it as a possibility."

"Well, it didn't, so where does that leave us?"

"The only other way that I can think of to have made this could happen, Harry, is if your parents..."

"_What_?"

"Harry, for this particular spell to work, your parents needed to be... dead."

"Yes?"

"So if, for some reason, they were no _longer_ dead..."

Harry turned shocked eyes to the portrait. "You mean...?"

"I mean, if James and Lily Potter's souls were returned to life, then the spell that animated this portrait would cease to be effective."

"You're telling me," Harry said, his voice low and dangerous. "You're telling me that my parents are no longer dead?"

"It would appear... yes, Harry. I believe that, somehow, their souls have been returned to _our_ reality. Somewhere in our world, James and Lily Potter have returned."

* * *

_And there I leave you for now. I'm trying to meet a deadline today, so I'll "see" you all tomorrow. Enjoy!  
_

_ CQ _


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: The Messenger

"Quiet, please," the deep voice of Albus Dumbledore wasn't raised, but it achieved the desired effect. The noise in the room died down, people sat, and Albus looked around. His eyes met Harry's and he nodded slightly. Harry's arm tightened around Ginny where they sat on the sofa, which had been turned to face the room.

Harry felt the small girl next to him, and took comfort from her warmth. Ginny had attached herself to his side the moment the household had been made aware of what had happened to the portrait of his parents, and hadn't left him for a moment since. He breathed deeply, taking in the scent of her. She always smelled of vanilla and strawberries. How did she manage to smell of strawberries at this time of year?

His breath caught in his throat as she looked up at him with her cinnamon brown eyes. She smiled. Not a smile of happiness, for they were all to concerned ot be happy right now, but a smile of... reassurance.

"I love you," she whispered as she leaned into his shoulder. He instinctively tightened his arm around here, pulling her more closely to his side.

Where would he be without her? Without her strength?

"There have been a massive number of attacks reported in the last forty eight hours," Harry realized that Dumbledore had begun, and tried to concentrate on what the old wizard was saying. "And it seems clear that someone has taken up the Dark cause... I feel it is now time to tell you who we believe that to be."

Ginny's hand tightened in Harry's. He squeezed back, but didn't take his eyes from the headmaster's face.

"We believe..."

At that moment, the door to the study flew open with a bang, and every witch and wizard in the room turned, as one, their wands at the ready.

The hooded figure that stood there raised a wandless hand in a gesture of peace.

"Wait!" Harry yelled, jumping to his feet. Ginny gasped and shot to her feet beside him, her hand still in his. Everyone paused.

"I must speak with the one who leads the Light," the figure spoke. The deep, gutteral voice sent chills down Harry's spine.

"How did you get in here?" Harry demanded, stepping forward.

"Your wards are excellent, Harry Potter. Do not concern yourself. But wards and magical barriers can do little to hold me out."

"Who are you?"

"I am Keeper of the Gate, Guardian of the Way. Some of your people have referred to be as... Anubis. I bring a message for one who leads on the path of Light."

With this, he pulled off the hood, revealing a rather strange looking face. It was the face of a man, but badly done, almost as though it was out of focus. Strangely, while clearly human, one got the strong impression of a dog when looking at him. He had a long nose and beady, wide-spaced eyes. His brow ridge was low and long, and there was little chin below the thin lips. His teeth were strong, and sharp-looking. His skin was a dusky, coffee-brown, and his large ears were set high and far back on his head. His hair was cropped short.

Harry heard Hermione gasp, but didn't have time to glance at her. He still stood in the doorway, but it felt, to Harry, as though the robed figure was approaching, encroaching on his personal space. The smell...

It wasn't unpleasant. It wasn't the smell of death, or of decay, but it was. Harry couldn't explain it. He knew that, under normal conditions, he'd be retching, but strangely, while his mind processed the _fact_ of the stench, his body wasn't reacting physically to it.

"A message? From who?" Harry asked, his voice hoarse. He instinctively knew that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"From one who would cross if he could take that risk. Shall I show you?"

"Yes," Harry knew several of the others in the room tensed instinctively, but he could feel something... something odd. Like this... person... was communicating on more than more one level, and with absolute certainty, Harry knew they must hear the message he had brought.

The rather odd-looking man took a deep breath, and they watched as his face contorted... stretched, moved. The skin lightened from the dusky brown to a lighter shade. Pale, English skin. The hair... the hair did not lighten, but became longish and slightly curled at the ends. When the contortions finished, the eyes snapped open suddenly, revealing intense, blue, nearly crazed eyes that searched the room, coming to rest on Harry.

"Sirius?" Harry said weakly, swallowing.

"In a way. Harry, you must listen, I do not have much time."

"Sirius... you... how...?"

"I have been granted but a moment, Harry. Listen carefully."

"What?"

"The way... the gate has been opened..."

"We _know_..."

"No... you don't. You think it's the gate that I went through... it's not, Harry."

"My mother... her portrait... said there are several. If we destroy them...?"

"Destroying the gates... that will only make things worse."

"What?"

"Voldemort has discovered a way to draw souls back through a Veil. He is building an army, Harry... an army of the dead. Destroying the gates will only destroy your ability to return the souls to where they belong."

"But how...?"

"Harry, just listen! He is planning on drawing an army through, of souls who will then be bound to do his bidding. Souls that should be at rest. Some of them are the souls of those who... will most affect you."

"Sirius..."

"Of people you knew, Harry! Of... of those who have fought with you... of those who you would find it difficult to fight against... of those you cared about!"

Harry went still, thinking of the now-still painting in the study of Potter Manor. His face lost all color, and he drew a rasping breath.

"Dear Merlin..."

"Harry?"

"I know, Sirius. He's already begun."

* * *

Harry moved around the Manor in a black mood. There was so much happening, and so very little he could do to affect it.

Voldemort was back. He could hardly believe it was possible. Not only that, but he had made the choice to return... as a ghost. Something that Harry's wand was little good against. In essence, he had returned immortal.

And the one bloody person who knew how to help wasn't willing to.

Harry found himself in the study, staring up at the portrait of his parents, stilled now. Somewhere in the world... somewhere out there... these two people had returned from eternity, brought back to fight against him, against their wills, to break him. And somehow, he had to find a way to not only stop Voldemort and his forces once more, but he had to go through people like this... people he loved... to do it.

What next?

"Harry?" the soft voice came from the door. Harry turned to see Hermione standing there, hesitant.

"I thought you'd gone to lie down," Harry said gently, watching her as she entered.

"I did, but I couldn't rest."

"And Ron let you up, anyhow?" Harry asked, smiling.

"He doesn't know," she flushed. "Actually, I slipped out when he went to the loo."

"You'll be in trouble with him."

"When am I not?" she asked with a sigh. "Can I talk to you?"

"You can always talk to me, Mione."

She looked up at him with her gentle brown eyes, unsmiling.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her lips quivering. He could tell she was on the verge of tears.

"Sorry?" Harry was surprised. Shouldn't it be him doing the apologising? "For what?"

"For... for making you do that. For not being able to... to just tell you."

"Hermione..."

"But thank you, as well."

"For?"

"For doing what had to be done, to get it out of my head and into yours."

"I.."

"What are we going to do, Harry?"

"I have no idea," he shook his head. "There is a possibility, but I can't say anything more until I hear from Dumbledore."

"I understand," Hermione looked down at her hands. "Are you going back to the school?"

"I'll have to, won't I?" he sighed. "I have classes to teach on Monday. Ginny's got classes. Ron missed a Quidditch tryout today..."

"Oh, no!"

"It's okay. McGonagall filled in. But still..."

"Is it hopeless?"

"What?"

Hermione took a deep breath, then looked up at him again. "Trying to have a life."

"No," Harry sat down next to her, leaning back against the upholstery of the sofa. "No, Mione... we can't give that up. Not that."

"Every time..."

"Not every time, Mione," Harry whispered. "Look at my parents. They graduated in a time of war, yet they went ahead, got jobs, got married... had me. They didn't give up, and things were even darker then, I think. Why should we give up, if they didn't?"

"Sometimes it seems so hopeless."

"I'm going to tell you a secret," Harry glanced at her. "That's not you talking."

"What?"

"That's not you talking, wondering if it might be hopeless," Harry said. "When we carry something around, a secret that can't be told, but _must_ be, when we know something that will affect the world, but it can't be shared, it takes a toll on us, Mione. I know... I carried around the secret of the prophecy for a long time. I felt hopeless. Remember our fifth year? You and Ron tried to get me to talk and I just couldn't... and I got deeper and deeper into that place where there is no hope. Now that you're not carrying your secret alone, Hermione, things will begin to look up. They did for me, when I finally told you and the others about the prophecy."

"You've changed," Hermione mused.

"Ginny changed me," Harry shrugged.

"How?"

"I have something to live for, something to make the world a better place for. Before, I couldn't see that. Ginny gives me that."

Hermione smiled, then laid her head on his shoulder. "Ron gives me that."

"I know," Harry smiled. "Just like you do for him. It's how it's supposed to be. We should enjoy it while we can."

"Hermione? What are you doing out of bed?" Ron strode into the room, coming to sit beside Hermione on the couch. She smiled at him, a knowing smile that said she knew that his reaction was going to be this way, and took his hand.

"Talking to Harry, Ron. We don't do this enough, the three of us."

Ron tried to maintain his indignance, but couldn't. He agreed with her.

"You're okay?"

"I'll be fine," she confirmed, leaning her head back against the back of the sofa, and holding Ron and Harry's hands on either side of her.

"Are you okay, though, Harry?" she asked.

"Me?" Harry glanced at her. "I'm fine."

"Sirius..." Hermione took a breath.

"I'm fine, Mione."

"You know who that was, don't you?" she asked after a moment.

"Who? The messenger?"

"Anubis," Hermione confirmed. "You know who he is?"

"No. Should I?"

"Don't you..."

"...ever read anything?" Ron finished for her, a smile playing about his mouth. "No. Why should we when we have you to fill us in on all this stuff?"

"Ron..."

"Look, Hermione, I'm still kind of freaked at the fact that some guy that looks like that, not to mention smells like that, was able to get through the wards of Harry's house, apparently without any effort at all. I'd like to avoid the whole conversation where you point out how uneducated and poorly read we are, and just get to the part where you tell us who it was, because from your reaction, he's obviously someone important."

"Would you consider the Opener of the Way, or as some might prefer to call him the Guardian of the Veil, important, then, Ron?" she asked.

"The... the Guardian of the Veil?"

"He was... is... an Egyptian god. I still don't understand it, as I rather thought of the old Egyptian gods as more mythical than real, but apparently there's something in it all..."

"Mione!" Ron looked at her. "On topic, please?"

"I'm getting there, Ron. He was an Egyptian god. The god of mummification, and the god of magic, in addition to a few other things. He was thought to carry messages from the Underworld to mortals."

Ron and Harry were silent.

"He was also," Hermione continued, squeezing Harry's hand. "The patron of orphans and lost souls."

Harry shuddered. How ironically appropriate.

* * *

Dumbledore left shortly after nine that night, telling them that he would return in the morning and that, regardless, Ron, Harry and the others would have to return to Hogwarts by tea time, at the latest.

"Get some sleep," Harry thought he looked at Ginny rather directly as he said this, but the headmaster's eyes moved on before he could tell for sure. "You will be needing all of the rest you can get before this is done."

"Harry," he turned again, looking to where Harry sat at the wide desk. "I will be speaking to... those who might help us. We will discuss this tomorrow, when I return?"

"Thank you."

Without another word, Dumbledore left, his robes flowing behind him as he hurried to the floo.

"What was that all about?" Seamus asked from the sofa where he reclined between Luna and Pansy.

Harry sighed. "Ron?"

"Harry?" Ron looked up at him, his eyes steady.

"Can you get the door? I need to tell you all something."

An hour later, Harry entered his room, his shoulders slumped and his neck aching. He'd told them everything, everything he knew, and he'd almost had to stun Seamus and Ron to prevent them from heading to the castle to confront the Bloody Baron.

In the end, he'd simply told them that if they alienated the ghost now, they'd never win this fight, and the attacks would never stop.

After, he'd gone to the kitchens to find a drink, and had gratefully taken the glass of amber liquid that Dobby had handed him after popping into existence in front of him and nearly giving him a heart attack. The house elf had said little beyond, "All will be fine in the end, Harry Potter, sir."

Harry had nodded, downed the firewhiskey, and retreated silently to his room.

As he shut the door and set the locks, he was startled as the door to the en suite opened, to reveal Ginny, a toothbrush in her mouth and her long legs bare beneath his green tshirt.

"You startled me," she said, turning back around and returning to the bath, but leaving the door open. Harry heard water running, and then the door creaking as she entered the bedroom once more.

"I'm..." He stopped at the sight of her breasts moving beneath the cotton of his shirt as she leaned over to turn down the bed.

"I know. Come on, to bed with you."

"Ginny, your parents _can't_ be okay with this?"

"My mother was fine with it last night, Harry. I'm not changing things tonight."

"But..."

"Shh..." she helped him off with his shirt and guided him to the side of the bed, where she forced him to sit, then knelt, helping him remove his shoes and socks.

"Gin..."

"Hush, Harry. I'm not going anywhere..."

Harry w as particularly glad that night that Ginny hadn't left him. For a while... rather a longer while than he would have thought possible given the events of the day, she made him forget. And he needed, desperately, to forget. If only for an hour or two.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: Aurors All 

It was the middle of November when Harry finally came close to snapping. Three more major attacks, marked by smaller, less organized attacks on unsuspecting muggles, had happened, and Harry had been working on the last of his patience for some time. Practice and training helped, but not to the degree that Harry, or the others, could forget. Seamus seemed especially driven, and Ron and Neville were sometimes hard pressed to keep up.

It was during a Friday evening class that Kingsley stopped, looked around the room and shook his head.

"You've been training outside of our sessions, haven't you?" he asked.

"We train every day," Harry confirmed. "Before classes."

"It shows," Tonks panted from the side of the room. "Blimey, Potter... you almost had me there."

Harry grinned. For the past three weeks, they'd been working on hand-to-hand combat. While Harry was powerful, Tonks was fast. They were well matched as a fighting team.

"Well, I've taught you all I can," Kingsley said, sitting down and gulping greedily from a bottle of water.

"What?" Seamus looked at him.

"We're done. You've not only completed what would be required for auror training, but you've learned most of what I could teach you from working in the field. I can't teach you anything more."

"But..."

"Auror training is supposed to take months," Harry said softly.

"An average Auror training class consists of about thirty people, Harry," Kingsley said. "And they concentrate a whole lot more on theory at first. They don't get to the actual physical training for weeks."

"But..."

"You already knew the theory. Or at least as much of it as the average Auror takes away with him, just by what you've done. We first teach them how to not get themselves killed. You lot have had that down from, if I guess correctly, about your fifth year or so."

"Fourth," Ron commented dryly.

Kingsley looked at him, his brows raised.

"_You_ ever faced a dragon, mate?" Ron asked the older auror.

"Well, technically, neither have you," Seamus pointed out.

"No... but Harry has. And I _did_ face a bloody herd of acromantulas and that was in our second year, wasn't it? And a three-headed bloody giant dog in our first, not to mention a bloody cave troll. I think that more than makes up for it. Not to mention the fact that I've been avoiding the worst of Hermione's temper for the better part of seven years."

Seamus grinned broadly. "I'll concede the point, my friend."

"The fact is, we've done all that needs to be done... and more... for the four of you to qualify as aurors," Kingsley said, drawing them back on topic.

"So," Neville glanced around at the group, looking rather lost. "What do we do now, then?"

* * *

Three days later, the situation hadn't changed and Harry was very upset. Dumbledore was still discouraging him from attempting to talk to the Bloody Baron directly, asking him to understand that the Baron was not being very receptive, and that anything Harry or the others said at this point could not go over well.

"People are _dying_, Albus!" He snapped pacing the length of his lounge as Dumbledore watched from the large leather armchair.

"I know, Harry. Believe me, I know."

"Then why?"

"Because, it is necessary."

"_Necessary?_" Harry stopped midstride and turned on the older man. "It's necessary for people... innocent people... to die while we do _nothing_?"

"Harry..."

"Then my aunt, my Aunt Daisy, she died for nothing?"

"No, of course..."

"She died to protect the innocent, Dumbledore, to stop this. She made the ultimate sacrafice to ensure the safety of those who couldn't protect themselves."

"I know, Harry."

"But we're allowing her sacrafice to mean nothing."

"Harry, it doesn't mean nothing. What Daisy did allowed you to destroy Voldemort..."

"But I didn't, did I?" Harry said quietly. "I didn't destroy him. Once again, he's back."

Silence.

"Are you certain you interpreted the prophecy correctly, Albus?" Harry asked, his voice calm.

"What?" The old wizard looked surprised at this.

"The prophecy. The one you interpreted to mean that I was meant to be the one to destroy him. Are you sure you interpreted it correctly?"

"Yes, Harry."

"How? How can you know for certain?"

"I can be certain because the facts support it, Harry."

"The facts?" Harry laughed. "Really? The fact that the prophecy says that I will destroy him, but I haven't quite managed it yet?"

"Harry, you have managed it. He has simply found a way..."

"Albus, the reason he keeps coming up with ways to come back is simply attributable to one thing, and one thing only."

"And what do you believe that is, Harry?"

"_He_ always has a backup plan. Something we don't appear to take into consideration."

"Perhaps..." Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps it _is_ time you spoke with the Baron. Perhaps... well, as I have recognized in past, there are some things that even I do not see. Come."

Harry followed.

* * *

"And tell me, lad, why I should help a scrunt of a boy such as yourself to kill my own kind?"

"I don't need you to help me do it. I simply need you to tell me how," Harry gritted his teeth, desperately trying to retain the tenuous hold on his temper that Dumbledore had insisted he must, for this to work.

"Show you? You think it's like making tea, then?" the wispy grey bulk looked at him coldly.

"_Voldemort is back, in this form!_" Harry hissed. "The bloody _Dark Lord_! And he's up to his old tricks... only this time, I can't defeat him in a duel, and you _are the only one who knows how I can destroy him!"_

The face of the dead nobleman turned back towards him after glancing to where Dumbledore sat behind his large mahogany desk.

"You think you can do this, lad?"

"I know that I _must_ do it!"

"It's dangerous."

"Like everything else," Harry said quietly. "Like everything else to do with the Dark. That doesn't mean I'm not going to try."

The baron watched him closely again, until Harry felt like screaming with the tension of it. "Nah, you cannot do it, lad..."

"For Merlin's sake! What do I need to do to..."

"At least, not alone."

* * *

Ron stood in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch, looking up. The cold December sky was bright blue, and the sunshine was deceptive. It was bitterly cold.

Slowly, he pulled a bit of parchment from his pocket and looked at it. He was still looking at it when he heard the voice.

"What's that?"

Startled, he turned, all his auror training going into effect. In a split second, he had Harry Potter at the end of his wand.

"Bloody hell, Potter!" Ron cursed, lowering his wand and taking a deep breath. "Don't bloody sneak up on me!"

"I didn't, actually," Harry said dryly, not having moved. "I called to you from the end of the pitch. You mustn't have heard me."

"I didn't."

"What's on the parchment? Letter from Mione?"

"No," Ron shook his head, then hesitated before handing it over to Harry to read. "I wrote it the day... the day I found out Voldemort was back..."

Harry took the well-worn bit of paper and raised an eyebrow at his friend. It would appear that he'd _read_ it every day since he'd written it, as well. Looking down, Harry read.

"What's this, then?" Harry glanced back up at his friend's pale face after reading it.

"It's what we have to do," Ron muttered, obviously uncomfortable. He shuffled his feet, then stared off into the distance. "I thought... I thought if I wrote it down... made it more real... well."

Looking down again, Harry nodded.

_Find him._

_Destroy him for good._

_Live our lives._

_Make sure Harry knows he doesn't have to do it alone._

The last line had obviously been added later, as it was in a different color of ink, and had been written to avoid a small tear in the parchment.

Harry looked back up at Ron and handed it back to him.

"So, you figure that's all we've got to do, then?"

"You don't have to do it alone, Harry," Ron said quietly. "Not this time."

"I didn't do it alone last time, as I remember it, Ron."

Ron looked up at him, his eyes dark. "And you don't have to now."

"Maybe that was the part that I got wrong last time. Maybe that's why he was able to come back."

"He was able to come back because some pillock... or several pillocks... at the Ministry decided to give him a way to come back..."

"No, Ron," Harry denied. "They've given him a way to build an army. But there will always be people willing to help a miscreant like Tom Riddle build an army. Voldemort returned because he was strong enough to make a choice... to choose the immortality of the spirit world. I've learned that he has to be destroyed... utterly. I didn't do that last time. I won't make the same mistake twice."

Ron was silent.

"So... you figure that's how we have to go about things, hmm?" Harry asked after a moment, indicating the parchment that Ron still held.

"I reckon it is," Ron agreed, slipping the parchment back into his pocket, almost defensively.

"Well, then, I guess we need to consider step one, then," Harry smiled at Ron's rather confused expression. "We can't destroy the son of a bitch if we can't find him, Ron."

"And what, exactly, do we do when we find him?" Ron asked. "How, precisely, do you kill a bloody ghost?"

"Oh, don't worry about that part," Harry said. "I've just spoken to the Baron. He's going to help us with that bit."

"You... you _spoke _to him? But I thought Dumbledore...?"

"Dumbledore came around to my way of thinking on it. We spoke to the Baron this morning."

Ron's eyes glinted, and a rather feral smile played about his lips. "So, step one: find the sodding bastard."

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"As ever," Ron agreed.

Turning as one, they headed towards the castle to find Neville. It was time to go Dark Lord hunting.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: The Plan

The first thing Harry did was send Hedwig off with a message. The second was to lead Ron and Neville off to Dumbledore's office.

"Harry," the headmaster looked up at him as they entered. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, actually," Harry confirmed. "It's time, Albus."

"Harry...?" the elderly wizard got a rather odd look in his eyes as he stood. Then it was replaced by something else, something clearer.

_Understanding_, Harry thought.

"Time?" he asked.

"It's time to end this."

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps you're right."

Harry held out his hand to Ron, his eyes not leaving the headmaster. Silently, Ron placed the parchment in it. Harry stepped forward and handed it to the headmaster.

"What's this?"

"The plan."

"The...?"

"And if you would be so kind as to call a meeting of the Order? We're going to need all the help we can get."

* * *

Within the hour, the Order was assembled. Harry and Ron's classes for the day had been cancelled, Ginny and Luna summoned, and the rest of the Order assembled in the large meeting room next to Dumbledore's office. Tonks smiled at Harry as he caught her eye.

"Harry?" Ron moved up behind him.

Harry glanced around the room, "Where is Ginny?"

"Just coming. She was flooing for Hermione."

"And Seamus?"

"On his way up from the village."

At that moment, Seamus Finnegan entered the room, and Harry caught his breath. Following close behind him was Dennis Creevy.

"Mr Finnegan," Minerva McGonagall stabbed him with a look. "This is a private... function."

"Sorry, Professor," Seamus didn't look in the least sorry as he glanced at Harry. "Harry's orders."

McGonagall turned suddenly shocked eyes to Harry, who met her glare squarely. After a moment, she spoke. "I am assuming, Mr Potter, you have an explanation for this?"

"Explanation?" Harry glanced at Dennis and back again. "No, Minerva, I don't have an explanation. Reason, yes. Explanation, no."

McGonagall flushed and turned away, towards the headmaster, who had watched the exchange with a twinkle in his eye.

"Harry?"

"Dennis is joining tonight, Albus."

"Harry?"

Harry sighed, "He has the right to be here."

"Headmaster..." the fifth year brother of Colin Creevy looked at the headmaster levelly. "I'm taking Colin's place."

"I see that, Mr Creevy. Take a seat."

The meeting began after a rushed Hermione, flushing and apologising, flew through the door and took a seat between Ron and Harry. The headmaster took in the wizards and witches in the room and then smiled.

"As I was not the one to call this meeting, I shall hand it over to he who did," Albus sat, and everyone looked around, talking amongst themselves. _If Dumbledore hadn't called the meeting, who...?_

"I did," Harry stood.

Silence, but every eye in the room was on him.

"Harry?" Arthur Weasley looked at him, his brows knit with concern.

"I asked Albus to call this meeting because... because we must stop this. Now."

"Harry, how?" Bill asked. "In all my years as a curse-breaker..."

"It's not a curse we're trying to break, Bill," Harry said. "It's nothing like that."

"Then what is it?" Remus asked from the dim corner. Harry knew that it had been the full moon the night before. Remus was weak, and light affected him for a day or two after the change.

Harry nodded, turning and tracing the air with his wand. Bright red lines appeared in the air. The words summing up what he had to say.

_Find him._

_Destroy him._

_Live our lives._

"It's time we did this," Harry said in a low voice. "It's time we put a stop to it once and for all."

"But how?" Bill insisted. "Harry..."

"We have to find where he is. We have to get to him. Through others, who may be... difficult... to get past. And we have to destroy him utterly. Only then do we get to live our lives."

Harry looked around the room. There were over twenty people there, and all were glancing between himself and Dumbledore.

"So," Harry looked around once more. "Each of you have talents. What I need to know is, which part of this are you going to work on?"

With a swish of his wand, two columns appeared, one titled FIND HIM, and the other, DESTROY HIM.

With another swish and flick, Harry's name appeared beneath each before he turned to face the room again.

"Or are you leaving the room now?" He asked in a much cooler voice as he glanced around at those seated before him.

"I should work on finding him, Harry," Hermione said. "I have access to information..."

"No! Hermione!" Ron turned to her, his ears flaming with anger.

"It's not so bad, Ron," Hermione reassured him. "It's really not. And it's our best source for information."

"You're not..."

"She has to, Ron," Harry said softly. "We both have to."

Ron turned shocked eyes to Harry, who met them with his own, sadness apparent in them.

"Well, I know what my skills are," Bill said. "I'd probably be best working on how to get through the... others... to him, Harry. He's likely to have them bound with pretty obscure magic."

Harry nodded.

One by one, the others joined the discussion on where their talents would be best suited.

"Harry?"

"Tonks?"

"Where do you want me?" she asked, her blue-grey eyes smiling at him, showing clearly her perfect willingness to be given his orders.

"I have something... very important... that you need to do, Tonks," Harry said softly, so that only those immediately around them could hear.

"I'm all ears," Tonks was almost bouncing in her seat with her eagerness to follow Harry's direction.

"It's maybe the most important job, to me personally, in this entire thing."

Tonks watched him expectantly.

Harry took a breath, knowing that he shouldn't ask this of her, but unable to stop himself.

"Tonks?"

"Yes?"

"Protect Ginny."

* * *

To say that Ginny Weasley was upset was an understatement. Harry followed her through the corridors, and for once, said nothing as she entered his quarters after nearly spitting out the password.

"Bloody _Quidditch_!" she hissed at the painting which protected the entrance to his rooms, preceding him through the door with a look that would have melted it, had it not moved at her bidding.

"Ginny..."

"Not bloody now, Potter, or I swear to Merlin, I'll bat-bogey hex you into next damned year!"

"Ginny..."

"I said, _not now!"_

He was silent as he took a butterbeer from the cabinet beside his desk.

"I cannot believe you..." Ginny paced angrily in front of the fire as Harry sat down. He knew it would be a long discussion. One-sided, but long.

"I cannot _believe_ that you _dared_...!" she stopped in front of him, hands on hips. Harry swallowed nervously as he realized she held her wand in her right hand.

_Tread lightly, Potter. She's a very capable, talented, and currently seriously pissed off witch. What was that that Remus had said? You still have this to learn... if only he knew!_

"Have I not _proven_ myself to you, Harry? I mean, I know that up until your sixth year you pretty much looked on me like a child, and a silly, infatuated one at that, but..."

"I didn't. I don't."

"_Do not _interrupt me!" her brown eyes snapped angrily at him. Harry's eyebrows rose at the effect. She looked frighteningly like Molly when she did that. Harry suddenly had a very clear image of his life ten or twenty years down the line.

If he lived that long. Chances were, Ginny would kill him before the night was through.

"I can't believe that you gave Tonks an _order_, Harry Potter! After _everything _we talked about... and that you ordered her to _protect me!_ I have never been so humiliated in all my life..."

"Why?"

"Why?" she turned on him, her eyes blazing. "_Why?_ You're dimmer than I thought!"

Harry flinched at that. He hadn't known that Ginny thought him dim. That rather hurt.

"Ginny..."

"First of all, Potter, I was there, if you don't remember, during the final battle..."

"I remember," Harry muttered. "It damned near killed me when I knew you were in danger."

"... and furthermore, I held my own!" Ginny continued without pausing. "I thought you respected me!"

"I do."

"But now I find that you feel I'm _incapable_..."

"Hardly," Harry glanced up at his very, very angry girlfriend.

"Then why in Merlin's name...?"

"Because I want you _and_ Tonks keeping you alive, Ginny. I have no idea of what we're walking into, and I won't risk you!"

"What?"

"I have no idea of the powers that Voldemort has, or what he's managed to give these... people... he's brought back. I have no idea, nor does Dumbledore. And if we get there and find out that they've got something we didn't count on, I want Tonks' back to yours. If the two of you are together, I _know_ you'll survive, even if no one else does."

"Do you think, for one minute, Harry Potter," Ginny's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That if the others... if _you_ don't survive, that I would _want to_?"

"I need you to, Gin. If I fight for nothing else, I need to know that you'll be okay."

"Harry..." her eyes were gentle now. Ginny's temper was fast and furious, but it also generally blew itself out pretty quickly.

"If I don't _know_ that you'll survive, I have nothing to fight for, Ginny. If I think for one minute that we're losing... that I've lost you..." he sighed. "I can't. I wouldn't want to go on."

"Harry," she came and sat next to him, pulling him close. "I don't need Tonks to watch my back. She has her own back to watch... or Remus'. It's not right, Harry."

"I can't help it, Ginny," he said, his green eyes filling as he looked into hers. "I have to. Don't you understand? I can't lose you, as well. No matter what the cost, I can't lose you."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: Home Truths and Machinations

The following weeks were some that Harry would have preferred to not have had to live through. In later years, people talked of the changes that happened during this time as the tide which brought on the Dark Days. In truth, it was not the actions of those in the Ministry or the Order which brought on these dark days, but the Dark Days which brought on the reactions from these offices.

Harry felt he was living a completely reactionary life. And he knew he wasn't alone. Ron and Seamus both mentioned their feelings of being out of control, and Neville walked around with a permanently startled expression on his face. Attacks increased, people became frightened, and others talked of the days when Voldemort was at his strongest, staging attacks before the Yuletide holidays, disrupting the peace of the season on principle alone.

There were grumblings from the several people in the Ministry that everyone had been premature in thanking the group from Hogwarts who had claimed to have destroyed Voldemort the summer before. The Daily Prophet wrote a rather cliched article, swinging back on their previous praise of the group of students and suggesting that perhaps Harry wasn't sane, after all.

Ginny and Luna, while still studying hard for their NEWTs, knew that something more was going on. Ginny took to sleeping in Harry's quarters, using his Invisibility cloak and a few well placed sound charms around her bed to cover her absence in the seventh year girls' dormitory.

For his part, Harry spent much of his time teaching all of his students how to defend themselves. His classes were well attended, and at his encouragement, the DA club continued in the evenings, following the model that Hermione and Ron had set up the year before, with each prefect being responsible for a group of several other students, practicing together every day, and meeting together as a group once a week.

Strangely enough, Dennis Creevy took over the responsibility of running the club. Harry was glad. Colin's younger brother was proving to be a wonderful resource. While Ginny and Luna were still students, it was well known that they were dating members of the faculty, and despite it being Harry and Neville, few of the other students were as open with the two girls as they might have otherwise been. Dennis and his friends didn't fall into the same category, and Harry and Ron were often in receipt of news which the students felt the young professors could make use of. The Hogwarts school grapevine was certainly alive and well.

"Why on earth would I care that Gregory Goyle's mother was seen shopping in Diagon Alley for men's robes?" Ron came into Harry's quarters after dinner one evening, tossing a bit of parchment down beside Harry where he sat on the sofa before moving to the cupboard beside Harry's desk and helping himself to a butterbeer.

"Dumbledore should see this..." Harry said absently, reading the note.

"What? What in bloody blue blazes does it matter if Mrs Goyle was doing a bit of shopping? We're trying to..."

"Gregory Goyle, his father, and his brother were all killed in the last battle, Ron," Harry said calmly, watching his friend and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"So?" Ron took a long drink from the bottle he held after casting a quick cooling charm.

"So... who would she be buying men's robes for? She's a widow. Her children are dead. She lives alone."

"Maybe she just likes men's robes?" Ron offered.

Harry didn't laugh. "Or maybe she's housing someone who's come through the Veil... maybe the Dark needs robes for those they're bringing through, and rather than place a rather conspicuous order for a few hundred pair through Madame Malkins, they've got witches like Mrs Goyle doing their shopping for them."

Ron's eyes rounded. "Oh."

"Oh, is right," Harry nodded, moving to kneel in front of the fire and tossing in a pinch of floo powder. "Headmaster's office!"

After relaying the news to Dumbledore, he rose and moved back to the sofa, accepting the bottle of butterbeer that Ron held out to him.

"Ginny coming tonight?" Ron asked offhandedly before sipping from his own bottle. When Harry looked at him, he didn't meet his eyes.

"Ron?"

"I saw her coming in last night, Harry... unless it was someone else under an Invisibility cloak opening then closing your door? Assignations with Luna?"

"Ron..."

"Relax, Harry. I'm not going to pound you. But don't let Charlie find out. He might," Ron took a swig from his butterbeer bottle, still not looking in Harry's direction. Harry could feel the tension coming off of him in waves.

"Ron..."

"Look..."

"I've asked her to marry me," Harry said flatly.

Ron was suitably silenced.

"Last June," Harry continued. "After the final... well... the _last_ battle."

"And what did she say?"

"She said yes," Harry said.

"So why haven't you two said anything to the family?"

"Because..."

"Because you didn't want everyone freaking on you. About Ginny's schooling, right?"

"Right. We were going to announce it in the spring..."

"'Going to'? But now you're not?"

"Now... I don't know if I'll be here in the spring."

"Where do you think you might be going?" Ron's eyes narrowed.

"Ron, I don't know what to expect this time. I don't know... I don't know how powerful... I may not be here."

"So that's it? You're going to leave my sister high and dry, and alone?"

"Ron..."

"What if she's... what..." Harry was amazed to see Ron flush even further. He wasn't sure if it was anger or... "What if you leave her with a parting gift, Harry? What's she to do then?"

"What?"

"What if she's... I mean, you two go at it like bloody rabbits... there's every chance that if something happens to you..."

"Ron, we've been..." Harry was flushed now, too. "She's not."

"She could be. You'd never know. You know Ginny, Harry. If she thought that it would stop you from doing what you feel you need to do, she'd never say a bloody word."

Harry sucked in a breath. That hurt. The thought of Ginny... in that white dress, wandering around the grounds at Potter Manor... a red-haired child in her arms... _alone._

"I've left her everything, Ron. She'd be taken care of," Harry said quietly, pushing his own pain away.

"She doesn't want your _money_, Harry!" Ron stood, angry. "And just how exactly do you think that your _money_ would help her? Do you know what happens to witches who have babies without being married, Harry? Do you care?"

"I..." Harry looked startled. He'd never thought of it before. He'd never heard of a single mother in this world.

"They're shunned, Harry. They're treated... like nothing. Most of them leave. Turn their back on magic and their families and just _leave_. Is that what you want for my sister?"

"Would you turn your back on her, Ron?" Harry's eyes spit fire at his best friend.

Ron was shocked rigid. For a moment, Harry thought he was going to swing back and hit him, but somehow, Ron managed to control himself before sitting down again.

"Harry, if something happens to you, pregnant or not, Ginny won't last."

"I've done everything I can to protect her, Ron."

"Except not involve yourself in this."

"I can't not involve myself, Ron. The fight is going to come to me. Voldemort wants me dead."

"How do you know that?"

"Because..." Harry's hand went to his scar. Ron's quick eyes didn't miss this, despite Harry pulling his hand away quickly. "Because, Ron, I can feel it."

"Then you'd better pray his luck hasn't changed, Harry," Ron said before standing and heading towards the door. "Because if he wins this time, I'll bloody kill you."

Harry was silent for a long time, watching the door that Ron had closed silently behind him.

* * *

Harry paid a visit the following Saturday to Potter Manor. He'd received an owl from Mrs Granger saying his aunt was asking to speak to him, and he made time to go and see her. Ginny had offered to come along, but Harry felt it was something he really needed to do alone, besides which, Ginny needed some quiet study time.

Arriving via floo from Dumbledore's office, Harry quickly strode through the public lounge and the main hall, heading into the kitchen. Hermione had reported in a letter than his aunt was up and around, no longer confined to her bed, and Harry thought the best place to find her would be in the kitchen.

He was right. He found her sipping tea, alone, at the kitchen table. When he walked through the door, she jumped, tea spilling on the tabletop.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so clumsy..." she said, grabbing for the tea towel sitting on the end of the kitchen counter.

"Aunt Petunia... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Harry... it's fine. I've been... jittery, I suppose."

"You're okay?"

"Nothing more than the attack... Death Eaters surrounding you with no notice will do that, I understand," she said with a rueful smile. Harry was surprised. He'd rather expected a return of the bitterness she'd harbored all those years toward the magical community.

"Aunt Petunia?"

"I'm glad you're here, Harry. I need to talk to you."

"Mrs Granger said. That's why I came."

"I..." the older woman swallowed uneasily, then pushed on. "I need to ask you something."

"Okay," Harry looked at her. She seemed different somehow.

"I need..."

"Aunt Petunia, whatever it is, I'll try to help."

Her pale blue eyes rose to his and she looked at him for a moment. "Yes, I know. You always help, Harry."

Harry looked at her for a moment. She was behaving very oddly.

"I... two homes destroyed in a year. That must be some kind of record."

"At the height of it, the Death Eaters were destroying a home a day," Harry said quietly.

"Harry, I need to ask you..." she took another breath. "It would appear that I need a home... again. At least..."

Harry was startled. He hadn't thought of her leaving.

Petunia swallowed. "I think I'm fooling myself that a return to the... _muggle_ world will put things right. I need to know if... if I can stay?"

"You've always got a home here. I told you that before."

"And if only I'd listened..." she sighed. "It would seem that fate wants me here... here in this world. All those years I tried to push it away. Maybe if I hadn't, if after Vernon died... well, maybe Dudley would be alive now."

"Aunt Petunia..."

"I know that you and he... I know what my son was like, Harry. I harbour no illusions about that. But his reaction to you was due to how he saw others treat you. I'm not excusing it... but you didn't really know him."

"I know that," Harry agreed. Dudley had been almost as much a victim as he had in the Dursley home. Vernon Dursley had a lot to answer for.

"In the end, Harry..." she choked, tears rising. Harry reached out a hand to comfort her, and surprisingly, she took it. "In the end, he rose to the occasion spectacularly. I had no idea. I thought he was a Squib, Harry, I swear I did. I don't think anyone was more surprised than Dudley, though. When..."

"What happened?"

"They came around midnight. I'd just gone to bed, and I'd left Dudley watching television. You know how much he liked that show where they fix up the houses without the owner knowing..."

"Yes," Harry didn't. He'd never watched more than an hour's television a year when he lived with the Dursleys. He wasn't allowed to. But he agreed anyhow, somehow sensing that his aunt needed that right now.

"Well, I'd just put my nightclothes on, and thought I'd get a cup of tea to take to bed. I'd just made a pot for him... he'd worked late, you see."

"Yes," Harry wanted to encourage her to talk about that night. So far as he knew, she hadn't yet, and he knew from his own losses that talking about it, especially after holding it in for so long, helped.

"Well, I walked into the lounge and... and the windows exploded... and suddenly, there were these robed men everywhere... I thought..." she glanced up at him, tears in her eyes. "Forgive me, Harry..."

"You thought it was me, or someone I sent?"

"For a moment. I thought... he didn't forgive me after all... but then..." she swallowed. "Then I saw the masks, and I remembered..."

"And Dudley?"

"Dudley," she smiled again, through her tears. "He jumped up and... oh, Harry, I was so very proud! He took one look at me and... and it was like he _knew_."

"Knew?"

"I knew that they'd wiped his memory of the night Vernon died, Harry... but for a moment, I could have sworn that he remembered. He said..."

"Aunt?"

"He said," she straightened her spine and continued. "He said, 'Not you too, Mum... I won't let them hurt you, too!', and then... there was a flash of light, and... and... it was green light. It came from him, from my Dudley. There was light everywhere, and then... they were falling all about us... and then there was someone else..."

"Someone else?"

"A... Harry... I think it was a ghost. He came in through the hole where the windows had been."

Harry paled.

"Harry..." she looked at him, the tears pouring down her face now. "He said something to me."

"Dudley?"

"No," Petunia shook her head. The tears falling unchecked now. "He told me... he told me he would take my family, _all _of my family, just as he had taken Lily and James. He told me to tell you... he told me to tell you that he was back, and nothing could stop him this time. Harry, it was him. It was Voldemort. And he let me live only to be able to tell you that he intends to kill you."

Harry took a deep breath, his eyes hardening. "He can try, Aunt Petunia. He can try."

"And Harry?"

"Yes?"

"That's when he... without even... without even a wand. He just raised his hand and... and Dudley was on the floor."

* * *

Hermione Granger left the Ministry of Magic Building in downtown London and hurried west towards the Leaky Cauldron. She had to get through to Diagon Alley and into the twins shop before closing time. This couldn't wait. She needed to talk to Dumbledore. She needed to find Harry.

"Miss Granger!"

"Sorry, can't stop, Tom. I've got to see the twins about something..."

"Do stop on your way back through, lass... not enough faces as pretty as yours around here!"

Hermione smiled at the barkeep and hurried through. Tapping at the brick wall with her wand, she waited as it dissolved in front of her, and then quickly moved through and on to the shop three doors down.

"Hermione, my lovely sister-in-law-to-be if my prat of a brother could only get his head out of his arse..."

"Fred, don't be a git."

"I'm George," the redhead behind the counter said with a grin.

"Right," she said, not believing him for a minute.

"You wound me, fair lady..." he made a production of grabbing at his chest and falling to the floor behind the counter. "As if I would lie to one so fair..."

"Fred, do you think we can get..." his twin came through from the back room, spied Hermione and stopped. "Oh, hello, Hermione. Fred hiding behind the counter again? What did you threaten him with this time?"

"Nothing, but I will if he doesn't stop messing about and tell me that I can use the floo without fear of everyone within the Ministry knowing where I'm going. You two get that rigged up yet?"

"Untraceable floo... one of our more successful ideas," George smiled, glancing over the counter. "Oi, you getting up? Lying down on the job... unbelievable."

Fred hopped to his feet, grinning. "Just taking a bit of a siesta..."

"Right. Show the lady the way through to the new floo."

"Right now," Fred led Hermione through to the back room. "It's still in pre-release, you understand... so you only have a choice of three destinations... Potter Manor, our apartment, and..."

"Hogwarts. I know. I need to talk to Dumbledore,"

"How fortuitous, then," Ron's brother grinned. "Off you go then, love. To get back through this floo, you simply say 'Wheezes Private Lower'."

"Don't forget the 'lower' bit!" George called from the front.

"Ah, yes... if you don't, you'll end up upstairs," Fred smiled. "Bill got rather an eyeful of Angelina last time he forgot..."

"I'll be sure to remember," Hermione said dryly, reaching out for a handful of floo powder. "I won't be long... I hope. And would you mind holding off on setting your alarms until I'm back? I don't feel much like having pink hair tonight."

"Never happen," Fred shrugged. "That is a special setting for clumsy aurors... we've got something special set up for you, Hermione."

"Just be here until I get back. I'll need you to let me out."

"I won't set anything. Call up the stairs if one of us isn't in the shop."

With a burst of green flames, Hermione was gone.

"Ah, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore greeted her, a slightly surprised look on his face as she stepped out of the floo directly into his office at Hogwarts. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I..." she flinched, feeling the pain she had fully expected. "Harry... I need to..."

Dumbledore's eyes lit with understanding, and he was immediately solemn. "You have information?"

Hermione hesitated, her eyes watering with the pain of the betrayal to her vows she was about to make. Thinking about it made it worse. Much, much worse. With a sudden, sharp-drawn breath, she nodded, then screamed as the pain overwhelmed her.

Through it all, she prayed that Harry could be brought quickly.

* * *

When she came to, she was lying on a large bed. It had a wine-red canopy and gold trim. The four posts were of a deep mahogany-red wood, and the light streaming in from the windows was dim.

It was early evening.

"Hermione?"

"Ron?" she struggled to sit up.

"Thank Merlin..." Ron sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her to him. "I was worried."

"You... the twins..."

"I've sent a message... they'll hold the shop floo open for as long as it takes."

"Harry?"

"He's here... in the lounge. We thought you should rest after... after you passed out in Dumbledore's office."

"Where am I?"

"My quarters," Ron flushed. "They were closest."

"I... I have..." she flinched, feeling the pain and the tears rushing to her eyes. She squeezed them shut, as much to stop the flow as to conceal it from Ron.

"I know, love. I know," he held her, stroking her back. "It will be better when it's over."

"Yes..." she groaned. "Please, Ron, get Harry. I don't know how much longer..."

"I'll be right back," he said softly, releasing her and moving quickly to the door.

In moments, Harry and Dumbledore were there. Hermione sensed their presence long before they spoke.

"Mione?"

"Harry?" her eyes opened. The rush of pain she felt made her flinch yet again. "Can you... I need you to..."

"I'm here, Mione. You have...?"

"I have information," she gasped. "Please... Harry... it hurts so badly... please, make it stop!"

"Hermione," Harry's voice was firm. "You have to open your eyes, Hermione. Look at me."

It took her a moment, but she obeyed him, her brown eyes locking with his bright green ones, and with a little sob, she let him in. Vaguely, she felt Ron's arms go around her, but she didn't break eye contact with Harry. She knew if she did, despite the pain it was causing, it would only be worse.

"_Legilimens_," Harry said softly, finding himself inside her thoughts, and moving forward. This time, he was ready for the churning core of her he'd encountered last time. The place where all her memories of her work were hidden. He looked around briefly, and suddenly knew exactly where to find the information she wanted him to have. It was like she had had it ready for him.

Hermione would never cease to amaze him. Despite the pain, despite the agony she was going through, her thoughts guided him right to where she wanted him to go. Quickly, he took the two separate memories as his own, and left her mind, to find her slumped against Ron, her back shuddering with silent sobs.

"I'm sorry, Hermione... but I love you so much for doing this for us..." Harry reached out, touching his almost-sister on the back. Ron looked sadly up at him.

"We need to finish this, Harry," Ron said with a steely, calm voice. "I don't want her going through this any more than she has to."

"Neither do I, Ron," Harry nodded. "But this time.. she was right, Ron. We _needed_ to know this."

"What is it, Harry?" Dumbledore spoke for the first time from the corner of the room.

"The Ministry is monitoring several businesses in Diagon Alley... they've managed to find a way to trace information from money..." Harry remembered the small device left with Fred and George. "They're putting together pictures of who goes where... they're tracking people that they know to be members of the Order... or at least loyal to you and I."

"To what end?" Dumbledore asked.

"To be able to put together a picture of their habits, Albus. To have an idea of where certain people will be and when," Harry sighed. "And then they're sending the information to someone in the Minister's office."

"The...?" Dumbledore looked flummoxed for a moment.

"And she had information on portkeys... an abnormal number of them being made, Albus."

"Portkeys?" Ron looked oddly at Harry. "What the hell do portkeys have to do...?"

"Portkeys to a property in Wales," Harry's eyes bored into Ron's until Ron's lit with understanding. "And every one of them requested by the same official."

"Harry?" Albus' voice was deceptively soft. "Do we know...?"

"We have a name. And I'll bet that he owns a lovely property near Swansea. That's where many, many people have been portkeying to... all between midnight and four in the morning. If we could prove it, I would bet that they're all originating in the Department of Mysteries."

"Harry?" Dumbledore's voice seemed firm again. "Do we know how many?"

Harry turned towards the Headmaster and nodded. "Four hundred and twenty two so far. And more releases for portkeys being approved every day."

"And Harry... who is requesting them?"

"I've never heard of him. Ogden Dover."

"I have heard of him," Dumbledore said, nodding. "But... do we know... Harry, who is _approving_ the requests?"

Harry glanced at Ron, swallowed and looked back to Dumbledore. Sadly, he looked again at Ron as he said, "The signature on the requests is Percy Weasley's."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Not Your Brother's Keeper

Harry paced in his quarters. Ron sat on the leather sofa leaning forward, his hands clasped and his elbows on his knees. His head was bent forward as he stared at the intricate design on the carpet between his feet.

"Ron?"

"I'll go, Harry. Bill and Charlie, too. I think the twins... well, they may take some convincing, but..." Ron's voice was low. Defeated.

"What are you on about?" Harry stopped and stared at him. Ron still didn't lift his head.

"Dad will... well, you know he's trustworthy, but..."

"Ron?"

"I'm sorry, mate. If I could..."

"Ron!" Harry stared at him, some note in his voice making Ron look up. "What in Merlin's name are you on about? What do you mean, you and Bill and Charlie will leave?"

"I... well, Percy... I..." Ron muttered, his eyes showing his pain. "If he's involved... we..."

"Are you suggesting," Harry said in a very low, very dangerous voice as his eyes narrowed on his best friend. "That I would somehow believe that you and your brothers aren't _trustworthy_ because of something _Percy_ may have done?"

"Well..."

"Ron," Harry's voice was cold. "I can't believe that you would think that of me... but besides that, we can't do this without you and Bill and Charlie... or the twins, or your parents... or _your sister_! Don't even _go_ there!"

"But..."

"Look," Harry sighed, beginning to pace in front of the fire. "We don't even know if Percy is involved..."

"Oh, it's him," Ron said grimly. "I should have..."

"You should have nothing," Harry said. "He's your brother, Ron. We don't know the full story, so don't jump to conclusions just because..."

"Just because his signature is on _four hundred portkey approvals_?" Ron said darkly. "Nah. Why would I jump to conclusions based on that? I mean, it's not as if he has a _history_ of turning on this family..."

"And don't think Voldemort doesn't know it," Harry said firmly. "And wouldn't turn that to his advantage. Let the others take care of that, Ron. Don't do anything you might well regret in future. Wait until it's sorted and we know for sure."

Taking a deep breath, Ron nodded. "Fine, you're right. I've got bigger things to worry about right now. But when this is all over, if I find out he _was_ involved, Harry..."

"Ten minutes alone in a warded room with him?" Harry smiled.

"Five ought to do it," Ron said darkly.

* * *

Ginny came soon after Ron left that evening. So soon after, that Harry looked at her suspiciously.

"Were you waiting for Ron to leave?"

"Was he here?" Ginny looked so innocent that Harry doubted it immediately.

"Or were you already in the room?"

"You saw the door open," Ginny shrugged.

"Ginny..."

"I swear to you, Harry, I wasn't in here, I didn't see Ron come or go... I just walked up to your door, gave the password and walked in."

"Then..."

"Then, what?" Ginny smiled, curling up beside him on the sofa.

"Then..." Harry put an arm around her, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Can't it wait?" she asked softly, trailing a line of kisses down his collarbone.

"No, Gin," Harry said gently. "It can't."

At the tone of his voice, Ginny pulled back, concern in her eyes. "Something has happened."

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

"Mum and Dad?" he saw fear in her eyes.

"No, no... nothing like that," Harry said softly, running a hand down her cheek. "We've gotten some information..."

"What?"

"Through Hermione, from the Ministry."

"And?"

"And... Ginny... I need you to understand that nothing has been proven yet..."

"Harry?" Ginny sat up straight, her eyes showing her fear. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"It... may be."

"Just tell me," she said in a soft, strangely weak voice.

So he did. Everything, from Hermione's arrival at the castle to the agreement between the four of them that Arthur had to be told, immediately, as the Interim Minister of Magic.

"Dad.. is Dumbledore...?"

"Yes. He's probably with him now. I didn't feel it was... I felt it would be better coming from Dumbledore alone."

"Yes," Ginny nodded. "You're right."

"I'm sorry," he said simply.

"You..." Ginny's shoulders shuddered. "You're angry."

"I don't know what I am right now, Gin."

"You're... disgusted."

"I'm upset."

"Do you want me to go?" she asked, avoiding his eyes.

"What? Why?" Harry stood, surprised, as she did.

"You can't..." Ginny's eyes raised to him. "My own _brother_, Harry!"

Her voice was strangled. Harry looked at her, suddenly realizing that she was having the same kind of reaction that Ron had had. Incredulous, he reached out and pulled her to him.

"You can't think..." he ground out. "You can't possibly think I blame _you_?"

Ginny sobbed into his shoulder.

"Ginny, this has nothing to do with you. This... _if_ Percy is involved, and that is a very big _if_, how could I possibly blame you?"

"He's my brother..."

"Yes. He is. Dudley was my cousin, and a bigger prat I've never met. According to my aunt, he was trying, though. Do you think that I could possibly blame anyone in your family for the actions of _one_? If they even _are _his actions?"

"You think...?"

"I don't think _anything_ right now," Harry said holding her close. "I can't. Because I don't have all the facts. But the last thing I need is the rest of you Weasley's abandoning me because you think Percy might be involved on the other side. "

"But, Harry..."

"I love you, Ginny. That doesn't change because someone else does something stupid. How could it?"

"I'm sorry," she said in a small little voice, muffled by his shirt front.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I just wish you knew... knew how much I love you."

"You must," she sobbed. "To put up with my family."

"Put up with...? Oh, no, I don't think so. Your family _is_ my family, Ginny."

"They are," she nodded, speaking softly through her tears. Finally, he appeared to understand that he was part of them.

"Ginny?"

"What, Harry?"

"I told your Mum."

"I know," she nodded. "She told me."

"I... Ginny, I know that we agreed that we'd wait until... to announce it to everyone, but..."

"What is it, Harry?"

"I don't know. I feel like... Ginny, I want to tell everyone. I want to set a date, I want to have you bound to me. I want... I want all this... and I don't want to wait until spring."

Ginny's gentle smile lit the room. "When?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Barring that... can we announce it all to your family tomorrow?"

"I'd love to tell them," Ginny sighed. "Yes, Harry, we can tell them all tomorrow."

"Come with me," Harry took her by the hand and dragged her towards the bedroom door.

"Harry!" Ginny blushed.

Harry stopped, looked towards the bedroom, then back to her, flushing himself. "No... I... I wanted... I have something for you."

"I'm sure you do," Ginny laughed. "But..."

"I..." Harry's face was burning now. "Sit down. Wait here."

He was back in seconds, finding Ginny sitting on the sofa, her knees drawn up to her chest, staring into the fire.

"Gin?"

She looked up to see him approaching, his hands behind him.

"Harry?"

"This... this was my mother's," Harry said, his voice catching with nerves. He sat down next to her. He held something out, and when Ginny tore her eyes from his to look at what it was he held, she caught her breath.

It sparkled in the firelight, and she reached out instinctively, pulling back at the last moment, her eyes moving back to Harry's.

"It's okay," Harry said. "I'd like you to wear it. If you'd rather a more... modern... engagement ring, I'm okay with that. We can go shopping..."

"Harry...?"

"Do you like it?"

"I love it," she whispered, holding out her left hand to him.

He took her hand awkwardly in his and, slipping it on her finger, felt something click within him, like his stars had suddenly aligned. Looking into her eyes, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

"Thank you, Ginny Weasley."

"For what? I'm the one..."

"For agreeing to stay with me forever," he said softly. "For being the girl in the white dress."

Ginny didn't quite understand this, but smiled and threw herself into his arms. Some things, she didn't need to understand.

* * *

The following morning, Harry strode purposefully through the halls to the dungeons.

"Professor Snape?" he called out as he entered the potions class.

"Harry?" Severus Snape stepped out of his office and into the doorway of the classroom. "Problem?"

"No... well... yes... I don't know."

"Decisive, as usual, Potter," Snape said dryly, turning back into his office. Harry followed him.

"I need a favor," Harry admitted.

Snape looked at him, his eyebrows raised questioningly. "Really?"

"You said..." Harry swallowed. "You said if there was anything you could do to help with my classes..."

"Yes, Potter, get on with it."

"I need you to take my morning classes."

"Excuse me?"

"You've done it before. You took over for Remus in my third year when he..."

"Yes. Well, Dumbledore felt it would pose rather more of a risk than he was willing to take on, letting a werewolf loose in a classroom full of third years," Snape commented, continuing to catalog potion ingredients. "Pity he didn't think of that prior to hiring him."

"I need the morning off," Harry said, ignoring Snape's rather cheap shot. "It's important."

"Important _how_?" Snape turned back to him, a speculative glint in his eye.

"Important enough," Harry gritted, losing what little patience he had. "For me to come to _you_ and ask a favor."

Snape seemed to consider this for a moment, then nodded. "Important, indeed. You appear to be in luck. I have no classes this morning."

"I know. You'll take the classes? I have fourth years – Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff at nine, and my seventh year NEWT class is at eleven, but they know what they're about... they'll still be working on their assignments from yesterday..."

"Hmmm," Snape's mouth thinned. "Babysitting. My favorite."

"You just need to be there to answer questions," Harry said.

"Yes," Snape sighed. "Very well, but you owe me one, Potter."

"I'm not going to be here forever, _Snape_," Harry stressed his use of the professor's last name. "Dumbledore may well be open to suggestion when it comes time to select a new DADA professor."

"And what makes you think that he'll listen to..." Snape's eyes narrowed speculatively. "Very well. Go. You'll be back for your afternoon classes?"

"Unless Ginny's brothers take me out back," Harry confirmed. Snape didn't bother to ask as the younger professor turned and headed towards the doorway. "Oh, and Ginny will be absent this morning as well."

"Of course," Snape sneered. "Certainly it would seem unreasonable to expect students to _be in class_!"

Harry, without another backward glance, sped out of the dungeons, and back towards Ginny, a very happy grin on his face.

* * *

Harry looked over the people gathered around the study of Potter Manor an hour later. The summons had gone out less than an hour ago, and he found himself surrounded by Bill, Charlie, the twins, Arthur and Molly, Ron, Hermione, Remus and his aunt Petunia. He swallowed nervously and was doubly glad of Ginny's presence at his side.

Fred and George took one glance around the room and began to crow with glee. They were silenced with a glare from their mother.

"Harry, Ginny? What is it?"

Harry looked at Mrs Weasley to find a look of expectation on her face, but a glimmer of worry in her eyes. Harry realized he had to get this over with, for any one of them could be believing all sorts of things until he did. Molly especially.

"I..." he swallowed, and glanced down at Ginny, standing next to him in front of the fire. She nodded encouragingly.

"Harry and I have something to tell you," she said softly.

"Snapdragon?" Charlie looked at her suspiciously, then to Harry, his eyes narrowing as he did. "I'm hoping that this is _good_ news... and not..._untimely_ news?"

"The very best news, Charlie," Harry said. "Your sister has agreed to marry me."

All hell broke loose. Charlie growled and moved towards Harry, only to be stopped when Bill pushed in front of him and made for the couple himself, a determined look on his face. The twins did a rather odd jig in a circle behind the sofa, holding each other's hands and dancing about while singing "They did it! They did it!", and Molly burst into happy tears.

Hermione's grin was wider than Harry had ever seen it, and she tugged on Ron's sleeve, only to look up with concern as he pulled away from her and moved quickly to stand in front of his two elder brothers, who looked ready to do Harry some serious harm.

"I hope you're headed over there to congratulate the happy couple," Ron stood firm, staring down his two older, yet shorter brothers. Ron was physically, quite intimidating when he wanted to be, being the tallest, and broadest, of his siblings.

"Ron..." Charlie began.

"Hear them out, Charlie, or so help me, I'll feed you to one of your damned dragons."

"Ron."

Ron felt Harry's hand on his shoulder, and he moved to the side, but not out of range, without looking at his dark-haired friend. He was still busy staring down his brothers, who were beginning to look rather sheepish.

"It's okay, Ron," Harry said softly.

Ron nodded, stepping back to wrap Ginny in his arms and lift her off the floor, swinging her around in a huge hug. "Congratulations, Ginny."

"Thank you, Ron." Ginny hugged him back.

"This can't have been a surprise," Harry spoke to Bill and Charlie.

"Surprise?" Charlie growled. "She's still in school, Harry!"

"And I don't intend leaving, Charlie," Ginny said softly.

"You can't be married at school!" Charlie shot back at her.

"I'll be done in June," Ginny pointed out.

Charlie looked... shocked. He took a deep breath and stared at his sister, and then glanced between her and Harry.

"I..."

"I'm all grown up, Charlie," Ginny continued. "Harry asked me to marry him last summer, after the battle with Voldemort. I said yes. Today, we're setting a date. We'll be married in July. Please be happy for us."

Bill, after a moment's hesitation, stuck his hand out at Harry. Harry reached around Ginny and shook it firmly, his eyes communicating something to Ginny's eldest brother.

"You take care of her," Bill said softly.

"You know I will, Bill."

"I..." Charlie glanced away. When he looked back, Harry was sure he could see a bit of mistiness in his eyes. "I'm sorry. Congratulations."

"No apologies necessary," Harry said.

Charlie nodded, then moved to the side for the others to move in on them. Remus smiled and pulled Harry close for a hug, and Molly enveloped them both against her for a long moment. Arthur shook Harry's hand, and pulled Ginny into a tight hug, and the twins continued their dance, this time around Harry and Ginny.

Hermione came and hugged Harry, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek before looking up into his eyes with tears in her own.

"Congratulations, Harry," she said softly. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry hugged her again, then shook Ron's hand.

The most surprising reaction of all, however, was from Petunia. She moved forward hesitantly, and touched Harry on the arm. When he turned to her, she smiled warily.

"Congratulations, Harry. Ginny," she said, before making to move away from the exuberant group around the young couple. Ginny, however, was having none of it. She clutched Petunia's hand and held her close. Harry let go of the breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"So... a July wedding!" Molly cried. "We'd best start planning, Ginny, dear! That only gives us seven months!"

Harry cast a horrified look at Ginny, who laughed. "I'm leaving it all up to you, Mum, and Harry's Aunt. I'm sure the two of you can come up with something perfectly wonderful."

"But, Ginny, you'll want..."

"I want to be married, Mum," Ginny interrupted. "To Harry. We've given you the when, the how doesn't concern me in the least."

* * *

"We must act soon, or they may bring through more than we can..." Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing, trying to convince the others gathered around the table that they needed to act fast.

"Shack..." Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I want to go in as badly as you do... but we're not ready yet."

"Harry, when _will_ we be ready? We don't even know what we're facing, but we _do_ know that every day they're getting stronger."

Harry sighed, knowing that the auror was right. They didn't know what they were facing, and had no way of finding out. And the other side was getting stronger with every night that passed. Harry looked up at Dumbledore, seated at the head of the table. The old wizard had a curious look on his face. Harry shrugged, shook his head. The decision was up to Dumbledore.

"Bill..." Dumbledore turned to the eldest Weasley sibling. They had all gone through a transformation in recent weeks. Harry wasn't sure if it was the evidence that had been gathered against Percy, or the announcement that Harry and Ginny had made the night after Hermione had brought them the information about the portkeys, but the Weasley boys, not to mention Arthur, were reserved and iron-jawed. Even the twins had stopped their pranking, and set to work with a vengeance.

"Bill," Dumbledore continued. "What have you got?"

"I've developed a few new charms and hexes that I think should be effective..."

"You _think_?" Hestia Jones looked at him oddly. "Have you tested them?"

"And how," Bill said coolly to the pretty older auror. "Would you suggest I do that, Hestia? Undead aren't exactly walking about Diagon Alley!"

"Alright, alright..." Dumbledore said softly. Harry wondered if anyone else noticed the headmaster's surreptitious hand movement that seemed to lessen the tension at the table.

"Professor..."

"Harry?"

"I suggest we get back to basics. Find him. Destroy him. Where are we at on checking out the property in Wales?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded. "It's owned by the Dover family. Ogden Dover is the youngest son of three. One was killed in... well... the last battle. He was..."

"A Death Eater," Ron finished for him. "Right."

"Actually, no," Kingsley said. "He was an auror. And a good one. We found him on the field... after. He was the middle son. The eldest, who inherited the title..."

"Title?"

"There is a title that goes with the property," Kingsley explained. "The eldest, who inherited, is a bit of a recluse. No one has actually seen him in years, although he still runs the estate, apparently."

"And Ogden Dover?"

"Up until now, spotless record. Started as an Unspeakable, but worked his way up. He's been working at the Ministry for twenty years."

"His education? Where...?"

"Hogwarts. He actually graduated the year before your parents, Harry."

Harry's eyes turned to the headmaster. "Albus? You remember him?"

"Yes," Dumbledore confirmed. "Good student. Very... determined."

"Determined?"

"To get a good education. He scored one of the highest Charms NEWTs scores in recent times."

"So how does someone like that, with a spotless record, no indication of any... dark work," Harry said. "End up involved in something like this?"

"Imperius?" Hestia offered.

"Could be," Bill said.

"No," Ron spoke up. "Not Imperius. Too easy... we'd expect it."

"Then do you have another suggestion, Mr Weasley?" Snape peered at him from the other end of the table."

"Yes," Ron said, meeting Snape's eyes levelly. "Yes, _Severus_, I do."

"Well?"

Ron turned his eyes on the headmaster. "What house was he in?"

"I don't think that has any bearing..." Snape countered.

"Ron," Harry looked at him. "Peter Pettigrew was in Gryffindor."

"And Malfoy? Crabbe? Goyle? Nott? The Lestranges? Voldemort himself? Which houses were they in?" Ron asked.

"Ron, Pansy was in Slytherin. So was Blaise," Harry said gently. "If nothing else, we have learned that house affiliation has very little to do with this war."

Ron let out a frustrated grunt.

"Actually, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said softly. "Mr Dover was in Ravenclaw."

Ron flushed. Harry sighed.

"House affiliation aside, there must be something... some reason..."

"Why not Imperius?" Hestia insisted. "It's easy enough..."

"Too easy," Harry said. "Like Ron said, we'd be looking for it. No. There is something there... some reason..."

"I rather think I may be able to shed some light on that," Arthur Weasley said softly.

"Arthur?"

"Mr Dover was passed over for a promotion three years ago. He was... disgruntled. He felt a certain entitlement to the position, and when he didn't get it, his work record shows an unprecedented downturn, only to show betterment in the last seven months. So much of an improvement that the head ofhis department was very pleased to make note in his file of how essential Mr Dover is to their work. He was offered, and accepted, a promotion. He is in charge of the study of four of eight portals... those that are kept inactive... the portals that have been identified as... return portals."

Harry sighed. "Sounds... interesting."

"In the last six months," Arthur continued, his face almost grey in the muted light of the meeting room. "He and... Percy Weasley... have become quite close. They share their lunch hours, several times they have dined with their wives at each other's homes. They are... close friends, despite the age difference. Others who work with them have described their friendship as 'odd'. There were witnesses several weeks ago to a disagreement between the two, but it was quickly dismissed when they realized..."

"Disagreement?" Kingsley's brow furrowed. "Arthur, you do realize...?"

"If my son... if Percy were being held under Imperius," Arthur nodded sadly. "If that were the case, he would not be able to disagree. He would not have the will to argue. He would not..."

"Dad?" Charlie spoke, concerned.

"I'm sorry," Arthur took a breath. "I never... I... well, one can't argue with the evidence, can one?"

"Mr Weasley," Harry spoke. "We have no real proof that Percy knows what is going on. All we have is his friendship with the person at the centre of it, and his signatures on the portkey approvals..."

Arthur Weasley raised pained eyes to Harry's across the table. "Harry, Sirius was put into Azkaban for twelve years on less than that. No, I think it's time I admitted... Percy is in this up to his eyeballs, either willingly, or through stupidity, but either way, he must have known that something was going on. How does one sign that many portkey approvals without knowing that something is going on?"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: The Battle

The following morning, one week before Christmas, it all began in earnest. As Ogden Dover and Percy Weasley arrived separately for work at the Ministry, they were both taken into custody for questioning. As this was happening at the Ministry, six teams of aurors descended on the Welsh estate of the Dover family.

As the two in custody denied any knowledge of the activity in the portal rooms, the aurors were discovering that, while there were signs of several hundred people having been recently housed at or near the large estate home, no one was there now. At least, no one beyond the emaciated and half-crazed elder brother of Ogden Dover, who they found chained to a bed in a bedroom on the third floor. When confronted, Ogden denied knowledge of this, as well, claiming to have had a falling out with his brother years prior, and never having visited the family home since.

While teams of aurors were busy in London and Wales, the question as to what had happened to several hundred undead answered itself. They descended on Hogwarts, and wer emet at the gates by the very large gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor, carrying a massive crossbow in one hand and a bright pink child's umbrella in the other.

Hagrid became the first casualty of what everyone hoped would be the _last_ final battle – the first to die on the last of the Dark Days.

* * *

Ginny Weasley knew the moment that the ancient bell began tolling during her last DADA class before leaving for Christmas holidays that something was desperately wrong. Every student at Hogwarts knew that the bell only tolled for three reasons: when a new Minister of Magic was announced, when the Headmaster of Hogwarts died, and as a call to arms when the school was under attack. Ginny had heard it once before, and had prayed to never hear it again.

Everyone in the class froze for a moment, until Harry quickly banished the notes and materials on his desk and swiftly began giving instructions.

"You're the NEWT class... you are all expected to help in any way you can to defend the school and protect those students who cannot protect themselves. Go now to your common rooms and wait for instructions from your head of house or the Head Boy or Girl. Go. Don't stop, don't look for friends. Get there quickly and do not leave until you are told to."

Immediately, the room began to empty.

"Harry?"

"Ginny," he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly, before pulling back and searching her eyes, almost desperately. "I have to find Dumbledore, Ginny. Go."

"I'm staying with you!"

"Ginny, you're needed in Gryffindor Tower. You have to go and help Professor McGonagall."

"But, Harry..."

"Ginny, I love you. But you have to go," Harry kissed her hand, then grabbed his wand and headed towards the door. "Go, help McGonagall, Ginny, please..."

Turning, he ran down the corridor towards the main entrance hall where he was certain he would find Dumbledore. Ginny watched him go before turning back to the classroom.

"You can come out now," she said.

"How did you...?" Tonks pulled the Invisibility Cloak off, leaving her hair rumpled and messy, and startled look on her face.

"You wear a very distinctive perfume," Ginny said. "You've been following me about for days."

"But..."

"Come on, Tonks, we have work to do."

"Harry said to..."

"_You _may be required to do as he tells you, but _I'm_ not," Ginny said quickly. "I know that McGonagall will need help, and that is where we're heading, but after I make sure that she knows that we're fine, we'll be going with the rest of the seventh years, Tonks."

"Ginny..."

"Tonks," Ginny looked at the pretty auror. "Would you let Remus go without even..."

"No," Tonks said quickly. "Just... we have to stick together, okay?"

"Let's go," Ginny said, leading the way out the door and into the corridor that was now filled with panicking students, then taking off at a sprint towards Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Harry thought, an hour later, that he'd never been so frightened in his life. That was, until he saw the bright red swathe of Ginny Weasley's hair off fifty yards to his right, the bright purple head of Nymphadora Tonks right beside her. His fear increased a thousandfold when he watched the bright purple head go down, the shocked look on Ginny's face as she turned...

But at that moment, he was suddenly surrounded by robed figures trying to kill him, and his attention was torn from Ginny and redirected to the half-dozen Death Eaters and their followers surrounding him.

The hexes and charms that Bill had taught them all had come in handy, but in all honesty, Harry found he had better luck when he simply destroyed the Death Eater in charge of each group. When they went down, the five or six undead they were controlling with the Imperius curse suddenly became very biddable, pleading to return through the Gate.

Harry concentrated on doing this, at least while he could. He very soon found himself surrounded by hooded figures, headed by a laughing death eater. Draco Malfoy's laugh was easily identified.

"So, Potter... didn't expect me, now did you?"

"Back for more, Draco?" Harry gritted through clenched teeth.

"I never left, Potter, not really. My lord and master called me first. Did you know that? He called me, Draco Malfoy, first of all those loyal to him. I was happy to bring a few... acquaintances... along. Take off your hoods, and let poor Mr Potter see just who he'll be fighting today."

Harry froze. Looking around at the robed figures, he was stunned when they all reached up to remove their concealing hoods. Harry's heart sped up as he recognized them. Blaise Zabini, Colin Creevy, Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Ernie MacMillian... and...

_Dear Merlin, no!_

Lily and James Potter.

"I invited that mutt you called a godfather, but he declined the invitation. Of course, your mummy and daddy were only too pleased to come along..."

"Harry...?" Lily Potter stepped forward, holding out a hand to him. Harry looked at her. She was as corporeal as he... solid flesh, the look in her eyes... she looked torn. There was pain there, and desperation, but aggression too. Harry flinched.

At this close a range, Harry could see that he did, indeed, have her eyes. The portrait really didn't do them justice. In the face of Lily Potter, they were indeed a striking feature.

But it was strange... everyone said how much Ginny resembled her. Harry had thought, from the photos and paintings, that Ginny resembled her strongly, but now, in person, he could see that the resemblance was fleeting, at best. Lily was tall and willowy, while Ginny was small enough to fit against his side. His mother's hair was long and red, but without the golden streaks that made Ginny's hair come alive. And it was straight, pin straight, while Ginny's curled around him when he buried his hands in it. There was a slight resemblance, something to do with the shape of the face, but Harry couldn't see anything more than that that would make others comment on how much she looked like his mother.

But then, Ginny had never looked at him with that combination of love and... confused rage. As he watched, the struggle in her eyes went on, but Malfoy had given no order yet. This situation could yet go either way.

"How... how did you do this, Malfoy? How did _he_ do this?" Harry tore his attention from his mother and directed it back to his most despised nemesis.

"You always underestimated the power of dark magic, Potter. We know things that you will _never_ understand!" Draco's eyes were lit with manic fire, but he was, if possible, even paler than usual.

_Understandable, I suppose,_ Harry thought. _It's not every day you come back from the dead._

"You thought you could win, Potter? My Lord Voldemort is..."

"How!" Harry screamed, not understanding how, when he had watched him die, all of them die... that they could be here, not looking much different than...

"So much you don't understand, and never will, you filthy half-blood," Draco shook his head. "My Lord Voldemort chose immortality. He is _forever_ now, Potter, and you can do _nothing_ about it. In his greatness, he discovered a way to bring his loyal and... not so loyal... back to him through the Gates. Wonderful job on the bodies, don't you think? A bit of dark magic, and... _voila_. I'm back, fighting fit."

"These people... would never have betrayed me in life. They laid down their lives against Voldemort!"

"Wonderful thing, the Imperius curse. Makes people do all sorts of things they'd never think they were capable of. Ask Ogden Dover. Such a biddable chap."

Harry stared at Malfoy.

"That doesn't work on me any more, Potter, that pitiful attempt at intimidation. I admit, in life, I was... weaker. But now... now, I have been through Death... I have walked the halls on the other side, and you, with your mudblood-loving friends and blood traitor whore of a girlfriend, you are as nothing now."

Harry remained silent, waiting. He wanted as much information as Malfoy would give him while running off at the mouth. But he swore that Draco would pay for that comment about Ginny.

"What is really amusing, Potter, is that the dead don't particularly want to be here – what they have in death is much more desirable. But what my Lord gives me... what he will reward his faithful with... well, it's worth sticking around for."

"Stick _this_, Malfoy!" Harry turned on him, his wand at the ready, the words on his tongue to that most ancient of Unforgivables, certain he had enough hate in him for it. Draco Malfoy had been a thorn in his side for far too long. As he moved his wand arm up, so did Malfoy. Apparently, death had improved his reaction time.

But before he could utter the curse, two figures sprang past him and, in a flurry of robes, enveloped Malfoy. Harry wasn't immediately sure what was happening, as it happened so quickly, but the gurgling, sucking sound that could be heard from Malfoy seemed to indicate that the bodies that had jumped him, covered him, were not doing him any good. Draco's wand dropped to the ground moments before his body followed, his face even more pale and devoid of expression, and his grey eyes blank. Harry watched, speechless, as the bodies of his parents moved back.

"Imperius is... difficult..." James gasped, "...to throw off."

"You're..."

"Oh, Harry...!" Lily Potter moved closer to him, but Harry stepped back. He didn't know...

"Harry?" Colin Creevey looked at those surrounding him, seemingly lost. "What am I doing here? What...?"

"Colin?" Harry whispered.

"I... no... Oh, Harry... please... take us back!" Susan Bones sobbed. "Please... I want to go back! Please!"

"You must take them back, Harry," Lily's eyes were filled with tears, her voice resigned. "You must. They... they wish to return. They must return. They aren't meant to be here."

"Mum?"

"I..." Lily looked at him, the tears running down her cheeks. "Oh, my Harry... I... I am so sorry..."

"You resisted the Imperius... you... Malfoy?"

James Potter looked behind them. "As much as we would like to continue this... I believe you're needed over there."

Harry turned to look to where a group of aurors surrounded a tall figure... a non-corporeal figure. As he watched, there was a blast of light and two of the aurors fell.

_Voldemort._

"Don't go _anywhere_!" He said to them fiercely. "Stay _right here. _ I'll be right back."

Harry strode through the battling aurors and undead and then stopped abruptly.

"Thought you'd never get here, lad."

Harry looked to his left to see the rather rotund grey wispiness of the Bloody Baron at his side, and sighed with relief. He had known he couldn't do this without the Baron's help, but he had thought he'd have to try.

"Baron..."

"Ready for this?" There was a look of determination, almost longing, in the ghostly grey eyes.

"As I'll ever be," Harry said.

"You understand the risks?"

"I understand that doing this got you a lifetime sentence to chasing Peeves around Hogwarts," Harry said, shooting a dark look at the ghost.

"Lifetime?" the Baron chuckled. "Try eternity, lad... but it's not so bad. I no longer get indigestion. Of course, my diet is rather restricted, but..."

Harry chuckled despite himself.

"Ready?" The Baron was serious once more.

"Ready."

And with that, Harry Potter addressed his fate, took the risk of living an eternity as a trapped spirit, and took off at a sprint through the group that surrounded the Dark Lord... the one who had chosen this most horrible form of immortality. Aurors around him, members of the Order, Dumbledore, Bill, Charlie, Arthur. They were all there, and he noticed them as he strode through. They were clearing a path for him, and all he had to do was take it.

Entering the centre of the group, surrounded by battle, Harry saw his prey. Floating a foot off the uneven ground, eyes glowing red in the wispy greyness, was the snake-like face of Tom Riddle.

"Tom," Harry greeted him. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Potter. You know that this, all of this," Voldemort swept his arms out. "Is for you? All the dead... mine and yours... battling over... _you_."

"Not over me, Tom," Harry said. "The dead you've brought back battle because of a curse. The Death Eaters, because they're frightened of a world where they don't maintain control. You... because you're too dim to know when you've lost."

"Lost?" Tom Riddle's laughter rang out. "Lost? I'm _back_, Potter... you couldn't kill me last time... and you certainly can't kill me now!"

"There are worse things than death, Tom."

"Worse than death?" Tom sneered. "Oh, yes... especially when one has the benefit of immortality, Potter. Unfortunate that you didn't take that into consideration, isn't it?"

"Oh, but I did, Tom."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, and he looked down on the very much alive wizard in front of him. "You have no idea what you're..."

"But I do. You underestimated me again, Tom. Once more... because you feel I'm somehow inferior to you. When will you learn that _love _makes me stronger than you will _ever _be? _Immortalis Nex!_" Harry screamed, thrusting his wand into the cold, cold remains of what had once been Tom Riddle.

Vaguely he heard the Baron reciting an ancient incantation, and the words flowed over him, making him feel every hair on his body stand up, his flesh cringing from the spell he and the Baron were performing. Then, feeling the cold travel up his arm, through him, encasing him in ice, Harry thought for a moment that he had failed... failed dismally. He would be trapped, watching as those he loved fell, paying for this inability, this lack of skill, for eternity.

An eternity without Ginny Weasley in his arms.

And then, he heard a scream. It wasn't a mortal scream. It wasn't human. It came from inside the cold mass which he had thrust his wand into. It came from inside Harry himself. As he felt the cold diminish, there was a ripping sensation in his own brain... he could feel something being torn free, something pulling through the very core of his being...

Harry Potter dropped to his knees, the white form that had been the ghost of Tom Riddle, the self-proclaimed Lord Voldemort, ceased to be, and the boy who destroyed him fell forward, unconscious, onto the cold, hard ground.

* * *

_Mwhahahaha! I do so love a cliffie..._

_I apologise most profusely for my lack of review responses. I AM reading them, but I've been so incredibly busy this past week or so that I haven't had time to do much more than post – and even that has been late a couple of days. I'm working on a really nasty deadline, and trying to keep my kids amused while I'm doing it, as well._

_There are a **few** more chapters left... just a few..._

_CQ_

_**YelloWitchGrl:** Do wizards have guns? Hmmm..._

_**LarnaMandrea:** It's lovely to write for people who can see it!_

_**WolfsScream:** "Bridezilla"? LOL! No. I don't think so._

_**NymphondraTonks:** "Happy and Perfect"? No, none of that here, now..._

_**Shotgunn: **Sorry about being MIA... I've been working on a deadline for a magazine and haven't had time for much of anything at all, least of all checking my emails. I'm back now, though -- ;- . As for the Bill and Charlie thing, I think it was simply reaction during a very... stressful time! Forgive them, for they know not what they say..._

_**Perenelle:** I believe there would be a certain amount of choice involved in how Tonks managed to do Harry's bidding. It's not as though he's going to tell her to do something insignificant or without possibility of success. His order of "protect Ginny" leaves enough room for interpretation on Tonks' part. Marchbanks is not a canon character. The quote about Percy's report comes from canon, however. In one of the books (OotP, I think) the twins tease him about his VERY important report on substandard cauldron bottoms... The school that was attacked really has no significance, other than the fact that Moldy Voldie (quite literally now, I suppose...) has no compunction about attacking children._

_**And thank you to everyone else who commented! -- ** FroBoy, Kordolin, BrittSchrick, Volleypickle16, GiGiFanfic, Gerie, AlliBaby, HeartofGryffindor89, RinnaMarie, Manatheron, Starnat, HarryGinnyluv4ever, SilverWarrior_


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: The Balance Maintained

It didn't last for long. Harry came to almost as soon as his head hit the ground. He looked up to see the worried visage of the Bloody Baron peering down at him.

"Lad?"

"I'm fine. Bloody hell, why didn't you warn me?" Harry grumbled, struggling to his feet.

"Ah, lad," the Baron raised his ghostly eyebrows. "The cold isn't something you can describe, now is it?"

Harry thought for a moment, then nodded his agreement. "No, you're right. You couldn't have told me."

"Few could, lad. Few could," the Baron looked past Harry and the smile faded from his grey face. "He's come."

"Who?"

"The Gatekeeper," the Baron responded simply.

"You _know_ him?" Harry was astounded.

"In my line of work, you meet all kinds," the Baron smiled again before looking back beyond Harry. Harry turned to see what he was looking at.

In the distance, Harry could see a group crowding around something bright. It took a moment for him to realize that the sun was reflecting off of something... it was a portal, and the tall form of Anubis stood beside it. Those brought back through the Veil by Voldemort and his followers, freed now with the extinction of the spirit which had held them, crowded around, desperate to return.

Harry, suddenly realizing what was happening, ran for the crowd, desperately hoping he would be in time to stop them. Pushing through, past others trying to reach the gate, he finally found them.

"Wait! Wait!" Harry yelled, grabbing for the robed arm of his mother.

"Harry?" Lily turned, her eyes sad. "Oh, Harry..."

And for the first time that he could remember, Harry Potter felt his mother's arms encircle him, and he took comfort from it.

"Mum?" Harry clung to her. "You can't leave... not now. Please..."

"Harry, we must," James said softly.

Harry looked up to see the others that Voldemort had summoned crowding to press their way through the portal. Anubis made them slow, counting them as they entered.

"Please... can't you stay? Please..."

"Harry, there must be a balancing," a deep, sad voice spoke.

Harry turned to look into the wise blue eyes of the Headmaster.

"Professor..."

"Harry, as many as came out must go in. Your parents cannot stay."

"Dear Merlin... _Lily! James!"_

Harry turned to see the ragged figure of Remus Lupin standing to the side, his face a mask of shock.

"Moony?" James smiled. "You're here with him. Good."

"James..." Remus whispered. "Dear God, James... how..?

"Don't ask," James grinned. "Trust me, you do not want to know."

"Sirius?" Harry enquired. Lily's green eyes found him again, and she shook her head.

"He resisted," she smiled. "But we..."

"We grabbed the chance to come," James admitted. "Your mother... _we_... wanted... we thought..."

"There must be a reckoning, James," Dumbledore said, his voice showing his sadness, but firm nonetheless.

"Harry... _Harry!"_ Ginny Weasley came pushing through the crowd, throwing her arms around him and sobbing with relief. "Oh, Harry... when I saw you fall..."

"Ginny, I'm okay. Ginny..." He clutched at her, holding her close to him and burying his face in her hair. She smelled of sweat and smoke, and that scent that was essentially Ginny. He sighed.

"You have so much to go on with, Harry," his mother's soft voice came to him. He looked into her eyes, full of tears. "Holding you in my arms... just once... was worth coming back... and will be worth returning.

"No!" Harry cried. "I've got you here now... I can't..."

"We have to, Harry," James said quietly. "As much as we wish we could stay here, we can't upset the balance."

"But..." Harry looked at them, thinking, his eyes wild. "Then I'll go with you... I'll..."

"I wouldn't let you, love," Lily said gently. "Don't do this to yourself... to her..."

Harry looked down into Ginny's stricken eyes and realized, he couldn't leave her. He simply couldn't.

"I... No... I can't leave."

"Harry, you have your life to live. Live it, enjoy it with no regrets."

"But so did you! You gave it up for me... how..."

"Willingly, Harry."

"But you... you're barely older than me. You can't go back... you had lives to live, as well. Voldemort stole that from you!"

"Yes, but he _did_ steal it, Harry. Our lives..." James swallowed. "The others... the others all wish to go back. Your mother and I would stay if we could, but... we can't."

Harry glanced to where the portal stood, Anubis at it's side. The line going through was dwindling. Those who had come through were almost desperate to return. Harry watched the blonde head of Colin Creevy as he stepped up and through. Susan Bones was next, and she went without a backward glance, without regret.

"Do you want to return?" He asked, his pain showing clearly in his green eyes.

"I would rather... " Lily sighed. "We have no choice, Harry. We would be with you if we could, but if this balance were upset... terrible things would happen, Harry."

"But..."

"There is a painting in the study of Potter Manor... there are instructions in my black writing case... you can have a small piece of us that way. I..."

"I've already found that. When you came back, the painting stilled. I don't think it will work a second time."

"No," Lily agreed sadly. "It won't. I'm sorry, Harry."

"There are as yet two souls missing from my world. The balance cannot be met until two more walk through," the booming voice of Anubis reached them.

"Harry, we must go."

"I know," Harry said quietly.

"Harry, there is more. It's not forever. There is a place beyond this... the Summerland... you will find it."

Harry looked steadily at his father. He knew he had to let go. He felt Ginny's hand in his, and suddenly knew that he could. He had Ginny. "I know."

They walked as a group towards the portal. Anubis eyed them carefully. "You are the two?"

"We..." James glanced down at Lily, grasping her hand tightly, and then back to Harry, regret in his eyes.

"No, they are not," a firm voice spoke.

Harry and the others spun around to see two figures approaching. Harry could hardly believe his eyes. Nearly Headless Nick and the Grey Lady, hand in hand.

"We are ready, Harry. They are not," Nick explained. "We will go."

"But..." Harry looked at them, shocked.

"No, Harry," the Grey Lady spoke for the first time in Harry's memory. Her voice was soft, lilting Irish, and she smiled sadly. "I am ready. I stayed... I stayed to be with an unworthy man, who left me alone upon his own death... Nicholas and I are ready to go. We _want_ to go. Can we, please?"

"Two are owed," Anubis said firmly. "We are missing the souls of a man and a woman... I care not their identities. The balance must be maintained."

"Nick?" Harry hesitated, hardly daring to hope, but feeling guilt all the same.

"It's what I want, Harry. Peace. Can you imagine? No more blasted immortality. What a lovely thought!"

Harry smiled, tears threatening. "Thank you... thank you so much..."

"No, Harry, it is my pleasure. Mine. Be assured of that."

With this, Nick and the Grey Lady moved towards the portal.

"Nick!" Harry called.

"Yes, Professor Potter?"

"Tell Sirius... if you see him... thank him for me."

Nick smiled. "I shall do that, Harry."

And with a flurry of movement, the two figures were gone.

"The balance is met," Anubis spoke, then turned, his eyes boring into Harry. "Beware, mortals... these gates are not playthings. Eternity, and my wrath, await those who seek control in my domain."

And with that, he disappeared, the gate gone with him, leaving a ragged group of exhausted, yet exultant, witches and wizards standing alone on the battlefield.

* * *

_Not done yet... still a bit to tell..._

_CQ_

_**BrittSchrick:** Oh, I will absolutely be done by Saturday. I have a release party to go to! Our local Chapters (HUGE Canadian book store chain for those of you who aren't familiar with the name) are having a pre-release party, and releasing it on the dot of midnight. We shall be there... and I shall be reading all night! My kids are excited... I'm excited. My husband is looking at us like we're all nuts. Ah, well – can't convert everyone!_

_**LarnaMandrea:** Glad you thought so! As for the Imperius... come ON! I couldn't let Malfoy (the evil little git) have his way with them, now could I? I think I feel another one-shot coming on..._

_**Perenelle:** The Baron is a ghost because he was a ghost killer, and one of the risks taken, should things go wrong, is an eternity as a ghost. Harry took this risk, but it didn't happen._

_**LittleTom45:** Wonderful! I love to hear that people have started to write. I'm putting you on my author watch list!_

_**Shotgunn:** Sorry about the lack of glory in Hagrid's passing, my friend. Perhaps the view in my head is better... I had an image of an army of undead being met at the gates of Hogwarts by the huge half-giant, armed only with a crossbow and a very badly disguised wand... perhaps it lost something in the translation._

_**CharminglyHolly:** Chocolate. Definitely chocolate..._

_**WolfsScream:** You know, I never thought of that. Would a blind person be able to sense someone's presence, even with an invisibility cloak? Hmm... I sense a plot ferret..._

_**And to all my lovely reviewers, a huge thank you:** Gerie, AlliBaby, GiGiFanfic, SabineStrohemMoss, JainaSanri, Volleypickle16, Kordolin, jC, HeartofGryffindor89_


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One: Epilogue

The trees were blossoming in the orchard of Potter Manor as the crowd gathered. White chairs were set up, all facing the flower-bedecked archway. Many people sat in those chairs, watching as Albus Dumbledore presided over the two who faced each other in front of him.

Remus Lupin made a surprisingly handsome groom. Nymphadora Tonks had toned down her usual look, and golden ringlets tumbled down her back. If one looked closely, though, they'd have seen the bright purple braid well hidden within the more conservative curls.

Harry and Ginny stood to one side, witnessing the vows of the man who had fulfilled the role of Harry's guardian and the clumsy auror who had taken a curse for Ginny in the _final_, final battle. Tonks was well recovered, having spent a few weeks in hospital. Back to fighting fit, she had demanded that Remus make an honest woman of her. Remus, after having so nearly lost her, complied without question.

As the crowd watched, Dumbledore performed the binding charm over the couple, and then, a very surprising thing happened. A sphere of yellow light encircled the bride and the two who stood to the side behind her. The surface of the sphere was hazy and mottled for a moment, before shattering completely, the shards disappearing as they fell to the ground. Harry looked at Ginny, who looked back, equally confused.

"You are now bound, souls together for eternity," Dumbledore smiled. "You may kiss the bride."

As the crowd rushed forward to congratulate the happy couple, Harry sidled closer to Dumbledore.

"Albus, what...?"

"Ah, I rather thought you might wish to know what that rather surprising turn of events signified," Dumbledore smiled benignly at the young couple. "Simply put, Harry, Tonks could not have divided loyalties."

"What?"

"When the binding charm was done on Nymphadora and Remus, her vow of allegience was nullified."

"But, I didn't know that was possible."

"It isn't, for a wizard who binds his life to a liege. But Nymphadora is a woman... a witch. She gave a _witch's_ vow, Harry. I'm sure that Miss Weasley has informed you of the... subtle differences."

"So, because she married..." Harry was beginning to understand.

"Her vows to you were set aside. She has been freed to be happy with her chosen. You gave her that freedom by being witness to her vows to Remus. Your support of her decision to marry another allowed her to be free of the vow."

"So, she's not bound to me any longer?"

"Well, not by magic," Dumbledore said with one of his rather disturbing, all-knowing smiles. "Now, if you would excuse me, I understand that the Weasley twins are reserving a celebratory firewhiskey for me..."

With a wiggling of his bushy white eyebrows, the elderly wizard moved away, leaving Harry to pull Ginny into his arms.

"I'm glad she's free of it," Ginny whispered into the front of Harry's robes.

"Me, too," Harry sighed, resting his forehead against the crown of her fiery red head.

"Oh, Harry... Ginny," Mrs Weasley bustled up to them. "Such a lovely ceremony!"

"Just think," Harry turned at the sound of his mother's voice to see Lily and James standing just behind them, holding hands. Lily's eyes danced with happiness. "In two weeks, we'll get to do it all over again."

Ginny smiled and Harry flushed. Sometimes it was difficult to believe that this young couple were his parents. Lily and James seemed to be only in their early twenties, appearing to be only a few years older than Harry himself. But they were his parents, and he had two Hogwarts ghosts to thank for their presence here. They'd been returned to him.

"Yes," Hermione spoke as she and Ron joined the group, as well. Hermione was glowing and sporting a brand new engagement ring, a small solitaire diamond in a band of white gold. "I can't wait, I've never been a bridesmaid before!"

"It will be lovely to have some babies in the house again," Molly said, causing Ginny to flush wildly.

"Well, if you feel that way, then there is no reason to hold back our news, is there?" Percy Weasley leaned over his mother's shoulder, pulling his wife Penelope around and into the group. Everyone noticed the pinkness of her cheeks.

"Oh, Percy... really?" Molly looked thrilled.

"In December," Penelope confirmed shyly.

"Oh!" While Molly enveloped her daughter in law in a huge hug, Percy met Harry's eyes and held out his hand to shake.

"Thank you, Harry," he said, his usual stiff demeanor well in place. Harry had begun to understand that much of Percy's perceived arrogance was merely a natural solemnity and seriousness that the other members of his family couldn't relate to, and that given the more outgoing nature of those other family members, outsiders were not expecting, and suspicious of when they met the middle Weasley son.

"Umm... for what, exactly?" Harry was rather confused.

"For not believing the evidence," Percy said. "I had a talk with Ron and the others. They admitted that... that you were the only one who believed that there might be another explanation, that perhaps I hadn't... turned my back on them."

"Percy..."

"After some of the things..." Percy took a breath, showing a surprising amount of emotion, for him. "Well, your support would have been the last thing I expected, Harry. Thank you. I don't think I deserved it, but... thank you."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Harry said simply.

"I sometimes wonder how much I did that was right. When I found out about Dover, I should have gone directly to Dad... but... Oggie was a friend. It was difficult to believe that he could be involved in anything like that."

"I understand," Harry agreed.

"I was pretty ticked off when I found out he'd been forging my signature, but... at that point, I wasn't sure anyone would believe me."

"I would have, Percy," Harry said.

"I know that now," Percy nodded, then looked at his wife, surrounded by the women. "It wouldn't have been... well, it was Penelope I was worried for. I could have managed, but she..."

"It's over now. We can all move on."

"Yes," Percy smiled. "Yes, it is."

Harry watched as Percy moved off to rescue his wife. As he watched, Ginny returned to him, pressing herself to his side as his arm encircled her, and his parents moved closer.

"In a few months that could be you," Lily commented softly, nodding towards Percy and Penelope, surrounded by their family, happily receiving congratulations on the coming addition to the Weasley clan.

Harry looked down at Ginny and smiled. She beamed back up at him, and he felt the familiar tug on his heart. Their secret was safe... for a few weeks, anyhow.

_Finis_

_

* * *

_

_There aren't enough ways to say "thank you" to each of you who have been following my writing. I appreciate you all so very much – thank you. I started approximately a year ago writing fanfiction as a bit of a lark. It was fun to play in JKR's sandbox for a while. Then it became an addiction. I get so much from it, you have no idea. My own writing has improved and the amount that I write has increased threefold. I attribute this to the fact that I'm getting feedback on what I write here._

_This story was more difficult to write than the others, though. Still fun, but more difficult. I await Saturday, and the release of Book Six. I'm sure that JKR is about to change EVERYTHING, and take us off in new directions that we couldn't possibly have dreamed up ourselves... and there will be so much more material to spawn new ideas for more fanfics... I wonder if there will be enough to give me twelve more ideas? LOL!_

_Until we've all bought, consumed and digested the new book – that's all for me! See you all on the other side!_

_CQ_


	22. Chapter 22

_What? You didn't really think I was going to LEAVE you there, did you? LOL!_

_CQ_

* * *

Chapter Twenty Two: The REAL Final Chapter

"Harry? Harry, it's time to wake up," the soft voice roused him from sleep. He felt the hand on his arm and opened his eyes. The redhead sitting on the bed next to him smiled.

"Mum?"

"It's time to be up, love," Lily said softly. "Petunia has breakfast almost ready. You don't want to be late."

"No..." Harry sat up sleepily, then threw his legs over the side of the bed, suddenly remembering. "Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Ginny...?"

"Molly has flooed through twice this morning," Lily chuckled. "Ginny is a bit of a wreck, apparently."

"She's okay?"

"She's insisting on seeing you. Molly is horrified... the bride shouldn't see the groom before the wedding, apparently. Hermione flooed back with her to calm the waters a bit."

"Ginny and Molly together can be a bit..."

"Like fireworks?" Lily smiled. "Yes. I had noticed. Come on, love... your aunt has your breakfast almost ready."

Harry yawned as he watched his mother leave the room. He ran a hand through his messy hair and then laughed.

Today he was going to marry Ginny Weasley. And she was giving her mother hell.

He stumbled into the kitchen five minutes later to find his mother and aunt there, fussing at the counter, his mother telling her gently to relax, that Harry would appreciate whatever she prepared, and James looking on fondly as he read a copy of the Prophet at the table. Harry sat down heavily and his father grinned at him.

"Rough night?"

"Why did I let you and Remus talk me into it?"

"Did you?" James said innocently. "I seem to remember the Weasley boys had something to do with it as well."

"Harry?"

He looked through bleary eyes up at his mother.

"Yes?"

"There's a lesson to be learned here, you know."

Harry groaned.

"Never," Lily continued. "Trust your father and Remus when they tell you that there are no aftereffects."

She set a small bottle down in front of him and he looked at it through reddened eyes.

"That's a hangover cure, love," Lily said softly. "And the last one I expect to have to brew for you."

"I swear I'll never go out drinking with him again," Harry agreed, glaring good-naturedly at his father, who merely grinned.

"Now that I doubt," Lily laughed. "But from now on, it's Ginny's problem. I hope she's good with potions."

"Doesn't matter..." Harry grumbled, uncapping the bottle.

"Why not?" James chuckled.

"Because if I ever come home in that state again, she'd be so angry she wouldn't brew it for me anyhow," Harry admitted. "As Ron would probably be involved, it'll probably be a better idea to go to Hermione, anyhow. It would be worth the lecture we'll get."

"A lecture from Hermione rather than a lecture from Ginny?" James laughed.

"Hermione's lectures are... quieter," Harry laid his head down on his folded arms, waiting for the potion to work.

At that moment, Petunia approached the table, two plates in her hands. The first she set before James and then looked down at Harry.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Potion is working," Harry nodded. "Thank you, Aunt Petunia."

Petunia smiled and put the plate down in front of him, then retreated to the counter to get her own and Lily's servings.

"Harry," James was suddenly much more solemn as he responded to the look his wife shot him and folded up the paper.

"What's wrong?" Harry eyed him suspiciously, a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth.

"Nothing, nothing," James was reassuring. "We do have to discuss something, though..."

"What?"

"Living arrangements, Harry," Lily said softly.

"Living arrangements?"

"Yes."

"What about them?"

"Harry..." James began. "You and Ginny are going to be newlyweds and... as such... you're going to want some privacy."

"Dad..."

"Now, hear me out, okay?"

Harry nodded.

"You and Ginny are going to need some privacy, and you're not going to get it with your mother and I... and your aunt... underfoot."

"Underfoot?" Harry said. "There are fourteen bedrooms in this house."

"Yes... and one kitchen. And one dining room," James said softly. "Harry, trust me. I know what those first few weeks of marriage are like, and you don't need us around."

"But..."

"I've been over to check out the second guest house," James said. "There are four bedrooms... it's quite spacious. Your mother and I have decided to move over there."

"Dad, if anyone is moving out of Potter Manor, it ought to be Ginny and I," Harry said. "It's your home."

"Actually, it's yours, Harry," James said. "You inherited it... I wasn't here, remember?"

"But you're here now," Harry said.

"And imagine the legal wrangle that that is going to be," Lily commented, standing to pour more coffee.

"Harry... Gringotts doesn't appreciate things like wizards... and witches... coming back to life after they've already been declared dead for seventeen years," James explained with a smile. "It's going to take a while to sort it all out. If we claimed Potter Manor... or anything, for that matter, as belonging to us, it could be seized and held until such time as everything is sorted. This way, it's still all yours... the way it should be."

"But..."

"No buts," Lily said, filling Harry's cup. "It's the way it's going to be. Dobby has already cleaned it all out and moved our few things over there."

"But..." Harry glanced around. "What about you, Aunt Petunia?"

"Well, I'll go with with Lily and James," Petunia said gently. "They're right, Harry. You and Ginny need your space for a bit."

"I don't like it," Harry said. "You've only been back for a few weeks. You..."

He flushed.

"What is it, Harry?" Lily asked softly.

"You're like newlyweds yourself," Harry said. "We have much more room here... Aunt Petunia should stay here, in the main house."

"No, Harry..." Petunia said, a look of concern on her face.

"At least until we get another cottage built," Harry said firmly.

"What?"

"You tell me what you want, Aunt. I'll ask Mr Weasley about a contractor to build it."

"Harry, you can't!" Petunia said, shocked.

"Why not?"

"Because... because..."

"I can't give you the other house, Aunt Petunia, because I've already given it to Hermione. You don't want to stay here... you know you don't want to stay with Mum and Dad... you didn't want to leave, did you?"

"I..." Petunia flushed. "No... I... I don't..."

"Then the solution seems clear enough. A cottage down by the lake. I know you like it there."

"But Harry..."

"This is a _family_ compound, Aunt Petunia. We're a _family_," Harry said quietly. "It feels good having my family around me."

"Oh, very well..." Petunia stood, taking her plate to the sink. "You'll do just as you wish to, in any case."

"Yes, I will," Harry grinned as he continued eating.

"Hateful child," she said, her gentle touch on his shoulder belying her words.

Harry grinned again.

* * *

The back yard of the Burrow was adorned with more flowers than Harry had ever seen in one place before. He was certain that they'd been magicked into existence, because he wasn't quite sure where that many would have come from.

He tugged on his collar nervously, glancing around at the guests. Ron grinned at him.

"Nervous?"

"It's sweltering, and Ginny had to choose this duck suit..."

"Relax, mate. In an hour, it'll be all over," Ron continued to grin.

"No, in an hour it'll only just be beginning," Harry said softly. "Your mum didn't look too pleased with you when I arrived.

Molly had, in fact, been throwing crockery about in the kitchen rather alarmingly and muttering rather nasty things about her youngest son.

"Yeah, well, she didn't take the news about me and Hermione very well," Ron admitted, his ears flushing.

"You told her?"

"Had to," Ron shrugged. "She would have noticed if I just stopped coming home."

"Living together until the wedding in the fall isn't that big a deal, Ron," Harry pointed out.

"To her, it is," Ron said.

"Is she angry with Hermione?"

"Hell, no," Ron snorted. "I'm the one at fault. Apparently, Hermione would never have considered it, she's far too pure and innocent."

Harry and Ron looked at each other and snorted with laughter. Hermione appeared prim and proper on the outside, but she'd been a more than willing participant in most of their adventures up until now. She was quiet trouble, was Hermione.

"Anyway," Ron stopped laughing. "I told Mum, and she's been in a bit of a mood ever since. I'm rather hoping this wedding thing will give her something else to fixate on."

His blue eyes slid slyly to Harry and then away.

"Like?"

"Well, Percy and Penelope are providing a decent distraction... perhaps if you and Ginny...?"

"Ron...?"

"Hermione told me, Harry," Ron admitted.

"Oh." Harry didn't know quite what to make of that.

"Congratulations," Ron continued.

"You aren't...?"

"Angry?" Ron shrugged. "I told you what would happen if you hurt her... not if you got her knocked up. She seems happy enough."

Harry grinned. "It rather came as a bit of a surprise. I mean, we didn't intend..."

"It would appear that she's as fertile as Mum, Harry. You're in trouble, you do realize that, right?"

Harry sighed, the thought of many, many children running about Potter Manor had certainly occurred to him. He found it comforting, actually. They did, after all, have those fourteen bedrooms...

"Harry?"

Drawn back from his thoughts, he looked at Ron, who nodded towards the house.

Turning, he saw the loveliest creature he'd ever seen. And she wasn't even part Veela.

* * *

Harry and Ginny danced around the transfigured dancefloor under the stars. There were twinkling fairy lights in the trees surrounding them, and other couples moved around them.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm considering our future, Ginny," he smiled.

"Oh," Ginny laughed. "Do I get to 'consider', as well?"

"I was just thinking about this fall..."

"Hogwarts?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Is teaching what you want to do, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "I enjoyed it this year, Gin... but..."

"But?"

"It isn't... very exciting," he admitted. "I'm only nineteen. I don't want..."

"I understand, Harry," Ginny smiled.

"I know you do," he kissed her forehead.

"Why don't you take some time? Think about it?"

"Ron has decided he's not going back. The Cannons still want him, and..."

"I know. Mum was upset about it."

"That, too?" Harry laughed.

"Yes," Ginny nodded. "She thinks he's ruining his life, and dragging Hermione down with him. He's got a good position at Hogwarts, she doesn't understand why he wouldn't stay there."

"Your Mum just wants security for all of you."

"I think she'd be better served keeping the twins out of jail," Ginny commented dryly.

"What have they done now?"

"You didn't hear?"

"Apparently, I _have_ been living under a rock," Harry admitted. "What did they do?"

"The day after Dad was declared Minister permanently by the Wizengamut, they did something... we're still trying to figure out what..."

"What?"

"Every official in the Ministry had Weasley-red hair for a day," Ginny snorted. "I can't believe you didn't hear about it."

"I've been rather busy, love," he said softly. "And easily distracted. We've had much more exciting news of our own."

"Yes," Ginny smiled. It was a new smile... one Harry didn't recognize. He rather thought it had something to do with her pending motherhood, and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

Harry did a small double take as Seamus danced by, a grin on his face.

"What?" Ginny looked up at him.

"Seamus..."

"What about him?" Ginny's eyes searched the crowd.

"He's dancing with... with Pansy."

Ginny giggled. "You really have been living under a rock, haven't you, Potter?"

"What?"

"They've been seeing each other for a month."

"Seamus and... _Pansy_?"

"Why does that surprise you?"

Harry thought about that for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know. I guess..."

"Let it go, Harry." Ginny said softly. "The past is the past. It's gone. We have a future to build."

"I know," Harry said. "I'm happy for them if... if they're happy. I just never thought..."

He snorted with laughter suddenly.

"What?"

"Can you imagine Malfoy's face?" Harry laughed. "To find out that his oh-so-pureblood Slytherin girlfriend was dating Seamus Finnegan, halfblood _Gryffindor_?"

Ginny smiled. "We've put those prejudices behind us now, I hope."

"Me, too, Gin. Me too," Harry held her close and continued around the dancefloor.

* * *

"Congratulations, Harry," Remus held out a hand to shake. "And thank you?"

"For?" Harry looked at his honorary godfather and his wife.

"I know about the changing of the dates," Remus said softly. "Your father told me."

"Oh," Harry flushed slightly. Ginny had had her heart set on marrying on Harry's birthday, but it landed on a full moon, and Harry had point blank refused. He wanted Remus there. It was the only thing about the wedding that he'd put his foot down over, and Ginny was happy enough about moving it up a week.

"Thank you," Remus said again.

"No need," Harry said. "It was more for me, than you. I wanted you here, Moony. You and Tonks.

"Not Tonks... Lupin, _Lupin_!" Nymphadora smiled. "Or Nymphadora, if you like."

Harry looked at her, surprised.

"Nymphadora?"

She grinned at him. "Marriage mellows you, Harry."

"Right," Harry laughed. "That'll be the day!"

"Thank you," she said softly, moving close and hugging him.

"What on earth for?" he hugged her back.

"For releasing me, Harry... for letting me..."

"I didn't do anything, Tonks."

"But you did. You wished for Remus and I to be together. That's all it took, Harry."

"Really?"

Tonks smiled and took his hand, laying it on her flat stomach. Harry was hugely embarrassed for a moment, before understanding lit his eyes.

"Really?"

"Really," Remus put an arm around Tonks, smiling. "You'll play godfather, won't you?"

Harry swallowed. "Really?"

"Really," Tonks laughed. "I told you, Harry... having our family bound to yours would be no hardship."

"Then, yes... yes I will," Harry said, feeling the moisture in his eyes. He glanced at Ginny. She smiled at him, but shook her head. She was right... now wasn't the time.

"When?" he asked.

"January," Tonks smiled, back to her normal happy-go-lucky self. "Mid January. Probably arrive in the middle of a bloody snowstorm, but the one thing I _do _know..."

"What?"

"There's no full moon within a week on either side!"

* * *

Later, the guests had separated into small groups, and Harry and Ginny stood with his father, Remus, Tonks and the twins as James related a story of one of their pranks they had pulled off in seventh year, involving three first year Hufflepuffs, Snape and a cauldron full of love potion.

"We have so much to learn," said George mournfully.

Fred nodded, then bowed before Remus and James. "Teach us, oh great ones..."

James laughed. "From what I've been reading in the Prophet, you two have far surpassed us... a red-haired Ministry?"

Fred flushed, George grinned.

"Well..."

"Actually..."

"That wasn't them," said a new voice. The group turned to see Percy Weasley grinning at them.

"What?" Harry looked at the stiff, proper older brother of the Weasley twins... the ex-Head Boy of Hogwarts... "No!"

"Yes, to our eternal shame," muttered Fred. "Big-Head-Boy thought it up and made it happen all on his own."

"No _way_!" Harry looked at Percy, shocked.

"Hey, it's not my fault," Percy said. "You're the one who showed me the error of my ways, Harry. Besides... they're too stiff and proper down there. They needed shaking up a bit."

"And it had _nothing_ to do with the fact that George and I would be blamed?" Fred asked dryly.

"Perhaps a little," Percy admitted with a self-satisfied shrug. "You know, you two need to understand, others were rather good at Charms, too."

With that, and a very uncharacteristic grin, Percy Weasley ambled away, leaving a stunned group to watch him go.

"Out-pranked by Perfect Percy," Fred sighed.

"The shame of it is almost overwhelming,"agreed George, before the entire group burst into shocked laughter.

* * *

Harry sat quietly in the dark, listening to the call of the night birds. Hedwig was out there somewhere, hunting. She spent less and less time at home these days. She loved the countryside around Potter Manor, and was a very content owl. She'd even stopped nipping his fingers.

Harry sighed. So much lost... and so much gained. He still couldn't quite believe the sacrifices that people had made. Nick and the Grey Lady, of course, allowing his parents to remain here. But then there were the others. Blaise, Terry, Colin, Susan, Ernie... and Hagrid. Hundreds of others who had died during the various battles and attacks... everyone fighting for the same thing: peace. Just peace.

Peace was something that Harry was beginning to understand came with a pricetag. It wasn't the standard... it was what you strove for. If left unattended, it went away. They could never take it for granted, because if they did, they might find it gone. And Harry had no doubts that, should what had happened so far during his lifetime happen again, it would be much, much worse. After all, Voldemort had followed Grindewald, and Grindewald had been much less powerful than Tom Riddle had become.

Tolerance of each other must be taught. Old prejudices must be discarded, old fires extinguished, if this world was going to be a decent place to raise the child that Ginny carried. He would do it... and he wouldn't be able to do it from Hogwarts.

He felt a hand on his back and he looked up.

"Couldn't sleep?" Ginny asked, standing next to him on the dark stone balcony, her long white nightgown glowing in the night.

"No," he admitted, pulling her down into his lap. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"About... Hagrid. And the Dirty Dozen, and... the others... all the hundreds of others, Ginny. And about Malfoy, and Tom Riddle, and... and Bertha Jorkins and... everyone, really."

"You can't bring them back, Harry," she said softly, wrapping her arms around him.

"No, but maybe..."

"Maybe?"

"Maybe I can make it so that others don't go through what they did. What we did."

"You've decided? About Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"You're not going back?"

"I... No. Not right now."

"What, then?"

"I'm going to ask your Dad about jobs at the Ministry, Ginny. I can make a difference there."

Ginny smiled. "Yes. Yes, you can."

"And someday..."

"And someday _soon_, probably when my dad retires, you're going to be the Minister of Magic."

"Well... we'll see," Harry said. "It's not something I would seek out, but..."

"But you finally recognize that people will follow you, if you lead."

"I suppose so."

"Good. Now follow me," she stood up, holding his hand tightly.

"Where to?"

"Back to bed. I have a few... issues... that require your attention, Minister Potter."

"Oh..." Harry smiled as he stood and allowed his brand new wife to pull him back through the garden doors into their bedroom. "Will it require a committee?"

"Absolutely not," Ginny said with a smile. "This is definitely something to be dealt with... behind closed doors."

* * *

_The REAL "finis" -- done. Complete. Kaput._


End file.
